Document Type
DNP Project
Department
School of Nursing
Date of Degree
Spring 2023
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Primary Advisor
Dr. Karen Whitt, PhD, APRN, AGN-BC, FNP-C, FAANP
Keywords
Mental Wellness; Clinical Staff; Respite Rooms; Mindfulness Strategies; Ambulatory Care Settings
Abstract
Background: Diminished physical and mental wellness of clinical staff leads to poor patient health outcomes and high turnover rates. Providing designated quiet spaces to practice mindfulness can be beneficial to the overall health of healthcare workers, thus, improving compassion fatigue, job satisfaction, and retention of clinical staff.
Aim: This project implemented a respite room in an ambulatory care practice to improve clinical staff’s self-reported ratings of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and intent to leave their job.
Methods: This quality improvement project used a pre- and post-test design to compare clinical staff ratings of compassion fatigue (burnout and secondary traumatic stress), compassion satisfaction, and anticipated turnover before and after implementing an eight week respite room intervention. Participants completed the Professional Quality of Life-V, Anticipated Turnover Scale, and a questionnaire assessing respite room and mindfulness tool utilization.
Results: Participants (n=47) reported significantly lower burnout scores after implementation of the room (t (45)= 1.858, p=.035). Participants who used the room showed trends for lower mean scores for secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and anticipated turnover compared to those that did not. More nurses used the room (80%) compared to medical technicians/assistants (41.6%) and the highest reported barrier of using the room was lack of time (89%). Deep breathing exercises were the most used mindfulness strategy (53.3%). Participants who used the room reported significantly lower mean stress levels before room use (M=2.00,SD=0.603) compared to after room use (M=2.92, SD=0.669) (t(11)=11.00, p<0.001).
Recommendations: Implementation of respite rooms in ambulatory settings can improve clinical staff’s mental wellness and job satisfaction.
Copyright Notice
©2023 Whitney Hodges Shanley. All rights reserved.
Recommended Citation
Shanley, W. H. (2023). Improving Mental Wellness in Clinical Staff: Using Respite Rooms and Mindfulness Strategies in Ambulatory Care Settings. , (). Retrieved from https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/son_dnp/133
Open Access
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