Critical Care Nursing Commons^™

The Effect Of Providing End Of Life Care On The Mental Health Of Critical Care Nurses, Christy Nelson

Master's Projects

Critical care nurses are providing care to acutely ill patients now more than ever and may experience moral or emotional distress due to providing end of life care to their patients. The purpose of this literature review is to determine the mental health effects of a critical care nurse providing palliative end of life care. A literature search using PubMed and CINHAL was conducted and fourteen published articles between 2012-2023 were included in this review. Several interventions were identified which may be useful in decreasing burnout and moral distress in critical care nurses. Overall, nurses experienced the most negative mental …

Caring For Ourselves Before We Care For Others: A Mindfulness-Based Intervention For Acute Care Nursing Staff, Kent Brouwer

DNP Projects

Background: Acute care nursing staff have recently faced increasing rates of anxiety, stress, emotional exhaustion, and burnout. Nursing burnout is directly linked to patient outcomes, nurse retention, and the resilience of our nurses. Therefore, it is in the best interest of hospital organizations to focus efforts on the well-being of the nursing workforce. A recent innovative technology to prevent burnout teaches mindfulness through the utilization of smartphone applications. There is limited evidence regarding the implementation and impact of brief mindfulness interventions on intra-professional acute care providers.

Methods: A pretest-posttest design with a midpoint evaluation was utilized in this pilot study. …

The Resilience Vaccine, Sara Horton-Deutch T. Duffy

Master's Projects and Capstones

Healthcare workers have been working in unprecedented circumstances since the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Caregivers have been taxed with burnout. A large healthcare organization’s 26-bed, medical-surgical, telemetry, COVID-19 overflow unit was significantly impacted. Many healthcare organizations have adopted advocacy for attaining joy in work as an extra dimension of the Institute for Health Improvement’s Triple Aim. Adding this fourth aim supports averting caregiver burnout (CBO) while promoting joy in work.

This quality improvement project examined nurse leaders’ interventions that address CBO, promote healthy work environments, and promote joy in work. From June through August 2021, an 8-week resilience program …

The Impact Of A Digital Intervention On Perceived Stress, Resiliency, Social Support, And Intention To Leave Among Newly Licensed Nurses: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Lisa Concilio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The nursing shortage has been deemed a public health crisis with the turnover rate of newly licensed nurses (NLNs) growing (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2014). One out of five NLNs are leaving the profession due to work dissatisfaction and feelings of inadequacy (National Academy of Medicine, 2017). NLN attrition during the first year of hire has been associated with feelings of overwhelming stress and decreased sense of support which negatively impact patient safety (Spence Laschinger et al., 2016). As seasoned nurses are attempting to retire amidst a nursing shortage (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2018), NLNs require more support …

Effect Of A Self-Care And Self-Awareness Education Program On Resilience To Burnout And Depression In Clinically Experienced Nursing Students, Andrew Taylor

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose was to examine the effect of a self-care educational intervention on nursing student resilience and thus the potential for compassion fatigue, depersonalization, burnout, depression, and inadequate self-care. A one-group pretest-posttest research design was applied to a convenience sample of 104 nursing students near the end of their last semester in a baccalaureate nursing program. The measurements were demographics, a psychometric resilience scale, program evaluation, and reflection question. The intervention was a standardized, intensive 30 min training program on the high degree of stress and burnout nurses face and the core self-care methods that can promote resilience to these …

Gratitude Journaling As Intervention To Combat Nurse Burnout In Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Nurses, Melinda Simpson

Master of Science in Nursing Theses and Projects

As a practicing registered nurse in the intensive care setting, this researcher witnessed an episode of burnout characterized by a public meltdown, crying, and yelling. This sparked an interest in an intervention to combat nurse burnout. Literature was found on gratitude which has been found to increase resiliency. An increase in resiliency, in various populations, has been found to decrease perceived stress and feelings of burnout. This researcher investigated the use of gratitude journaling for 21 days as means to decrease perceived stress and feelings of burnout while increasing gratitude and resiliency. The PSS, GQ, BRS, & BBI tools were …

Evaluation Of A Staff Resilience Program In A Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Stacy Flanders

DNP Projects

Background: Compassion fatigue (CF) and secondary traumatic stress (STS) is prevalent in intensive care nurses, especially in pediatric intensive care nurses (PICU). CF/STS leads to burnout, reduced employee engagement, and nursing turnover.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to evaluate the impact of a staff resilience program on nursing turnover, employee engagement and improved compassion satisfaction/ resilience among nurses in a PICU.

Methods: A retrospective pre-test and post-test design was used to evaluate the impact on turnover and engagement after implementation of the staff resilience program. Comparison of RN turnover and engagement results pre-implementation were compared to RN turnover …