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Publication Date
6-2021
Keywords
2021 prov rn ca; 2021 prov rn poster; california; phcmc
Disciplines
Nursing
Abstract
Background: When RN worklife quality is positive, nurse and patient outcomes are positive (e.g, RN retention and patient satisfaction), and when worklife quality is negative, outcomes are negative (e.g., RN disengagement and errors).Yet professional quality of life(QOL)among RNs in progressive care units (PCUs) is undocumented. Stamm’s framework of compassion satisfaction and fatigue guided this study. Purpose: The purpose was to test the effect of supportive groups on professional quality of life. The hypothesis: Compassion Rounds (CR) will improve compassion satisfaction and reduce compassion fatigue among PCU RNs. Methods/ design: Using a quasi-experimental design we measured RNs’ professional QOL once before and once after CR using the well-established ProQOL—a30-item, self-report instrument that yields 3 ordinal subscale scores: Compassion Satisfaction (CS), Burnout (BO), and Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS).Paper-and-pencil demographic sheets and ProQOLs were coded for paired analysis. Return of confidential questionnaires documented consent. After initial data collection, Palliative and Spiritual Care staff facilitateda10-week CR intervention consisting ofbiweekly,30-45 minute, simultaneous live/online, open-ended discussions with staff RNs. Meetings focused on challenges enacting the RN helper role. The sample was an inclusive one of85PCU RNs in a 377-bed, Magnet-recognized, nonprofit facility. Results: Overall response rate was high (44%; N=39). Eighteen (18) respondents attended CR between 1 and 10 times (M= 3). Mean age was 35, and a majority reported female gender(89%), BSN preparation (75%), and no specialty certification (74%). Respondents were ethnically diverse. Using ProQOL cut scores, 7 individuals reported high STS; the remainder reported moderate to low BO, STS, and CS. Inferential t-testing of paired pre/post ProQOL scores (n = 10pairs) showed a pre-CR to post-CR rise in both BO (pre M = 23; post M = 28) t(8) = -2.3, p = .05 and STS scores(pre M = 22; post M = 33) t(8) = -3.5, p = .008. CS subscale scores decreased(pre M = 28; post M = 18) t(8) = 3.7, p = .005. Independent t-testing using all data yielded similar results (p < .05). The hypothesis was rejected. Conclusions: RN professional QOL deteriorated during CR, but no counterfactual exists; CR may have prevented worse outcomes. The PCU housed COVID-19 patients, and data were collected during peak hospitalizations. Moreover, completing ProQOL could have increased respondent self-awareness, and 10 weeks of CR may have been long enough to raise issues without resolving them. ProQOL scores are screening only and so must be cautiously interpreted (Stamm, 2010). Implications: Implications include a need for staff-identified strategies for group empowerment, as well as attending to individual risks for depression, PTSD, or burnout. RNs can access the free ProQOL to aid in guided career counseling. Moreover, further CR and PCU RN studies are warranted. For example, post-pandemic ProQOL data from the same PCU population might differentiate persistent downward trends from transient, self-resolving ones
Specialty/Research Institute
Nursing
Conference / Event Name
2021 Providence RN Conference
Location
Virtual Conference
