Steve Meier

Introduction/Problem

Compassion fatigue (CF) among Emergency Department (ED) nurses has become a significant concern within the industry. ED nurses are unable to perform their job duties due to the symptoms of CF. Symptoms of CF include depression, fatigue, and a lack of interest in everyday activities and joys (Flanders, 2019). Resiliency programs (RP) are a multi-pronged approach proven to be effective and impactful at improving ED nurses’ psyche (Haugland et al., 2022). The purpose of this quality improvement initiative was to decrease reported CF among ED nurses and to increase patient reported satisfaction. Further questions posed from this initiative included 1) Does a RP reduce CF, secondary trauma, and job burnout? 2) Does a RP reduce the number of nurse call-ins? and 3) Does a RP increase the number of nurse-involved debriefs and improve patient reported satisfaction scores?

Methods

A CF short scale survey was administered to ED nurses prior to RP implementation. All participants were exposed to an eight-week RP consisting of mindfulness exercises, ED debriefs post-traumatic events, and social events. Participants were exposed to mindfulness exercises at all ED staff huddle times on M/W/F. The mindfulness exercises were led by hospital chaplains and mindfulness unit-based champions. Further, staff were asked to utilize ED debriefing tool to document post-traumatic events. Traumatic events included patient traumatic arrest/expirations, patient sexual assault forensic examination cases, and workplace violence events. Lastly, all ED staff were invited to participate in two social events over the course of the RP. The CF short scale was then measured post-RP to participants. Additional outcome variable of nurse call-ins, number of ED debriefs, and patient satisfaction scores were measured and compared with historical data.

Findings

ED nurses participating in the RP showed improvements in CF, secondary trauma, and job burnout. Secondary trauma scores were significantly different between pre and post scores. Compassion fatigue and job burnout means trended down from the pre and post evaluations but were not statistically significant. There was also an increase in the number of ED debriefs, but little change in the number of nurse call ins. Finally, patient satisfaction scores increased during the initiative.

Practice Implication

RP are a unique and effective way to improve CF symptoms in ED nurses. It is essential for nurse leaders to implement RP in their ED setting to improve the mental health of nurses. By reducing compassion fatigue symptoms, nurses will be able to care for patients more completely. Without intervention, ED nurses run the risk of further CF and the potential to leave the bedside

This project received a grant from Mennonite College of Nursing at Illinois State University.

Dissemination: Accepted for Presentation at MNRS.