Designing a Resilience Program for Critical Care Nurses.

BACKGROUND

Workplace stress can affect job satisfaction, increase staff turnover and hospital costs, and reduce quality of patient care. Highly resilient nurses adapt to stress and use a variety of skills to cope effectively.

OBJECTIVE

To gain data on a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy resilience intervention for intensive care unit nurses to see if the intervention program would be feasible and acceptable.

METHODS

Focus-group interviews were conducted by videoconference with critical care nurses who were members of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. The interview questions assessed the feasibility and acceptability of a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy program to reduce burnout syndrome in intensive care unit nurses.

RESULTS

Thirty-three nurses participated in 11 focus groups. Respondents identified potential barriers to program adherence, incentives for adherence, preferred qualifications of instructors, and intensive care unit-specific issues to be addressed.

CONCLUSIONS

The mindfulness-based cognitive therapy pilot intervention was modified to incorporate thematic categories that the focus groups reported as relevant to intensive care unit nurses. Institutions that wish to design a resilience program for intensive care unit nurses to reduce burnout syndrome need an understanding of the barriers and concerns relevant to their local intensive care unit nurses.