Improving the Resilience of Nurses in the Emergency Department

Abstract

Enhancing the resiliency of nurses in the emergency department (ED) will be needed to meet communities’ challenging health care needs. Poor resilience can result in burnout syndrome and is linked to the development of mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. In addition to the harm done to the nurse, burnout syndrome contributes to increased medical errors, poor quality of care, and higher turnover. A private, not-for-profit healthcare organization located in the Piedmont region of North Carolina is experiencing a problem with nurse burnout and high turnover. Nurses report feeling overwhelmed by the increased stress placed on them during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic’s peak, new graduate nurse retention was lower than in previous cohorts. The aim of this quality improvement project was to improve nurse resilience using a resilience training program. A resilience training program that consisted of four online modules was designed based on cognitive-behavioral techniques and mindfulness activities. The online modules described activities to be performed over the course of an eight-week program. Resilience was measured using the 10-Item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale pre and post program implementation. The results of the survey indicate that resilience training can improve the resilience of ED nurses, with mindfulness exercises being the most utilized resource.