Nurse Leaders Employ Contemplative Practices to Promote Healthcare Professional Well-being and Decrease Anxiety

Abstract

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a daylong resilience retreat on healthcare professionals' anxiety levels, intention to engage in mindfulness practices, and self-efficacy around mindfulness. BACKGROUND Caregiver burnout is a concern that needs to be addressed at the organizational level so that professionals can reduce their risk of psychological injury while providing high-quality care. The COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) pandemic has exacerbated symptoms of burnout among nurses nationally. METHODS Ten sessions of daylong resilience retreats were delivered to independent groups of nurses, nurse practitioners, and other healthcare professionals. Preretreat and postretreat assessments were completed using a 19-item survey developed by the research team to assess state anxiety, intention to engage in mindfulness practices, and self-efficacy around mindfulness. RESULTS One hundred six healthcare professionals completed the resilience retreats. There was a statistically significant decrease in state anxiety scores following the retreat. The majority of the participants reported high intentions to engage in mindfulness practices and felt confident about incorporating mindfulness in their lives. CONCLUSIONS Brief resilience retreats endorsed by nurse leadership can reduce perceived anxiety and facilitate engagement in contemplative practices, which are associated with a decrease in the risk of burnout.

The emotional impact of COVID-19 on Spanish nurses and potential strategies to reduce it

“…Supporting our suggestions, Cunninghan and Cayir evaluated the impact of brief resilience retreats on healthcare workers’ anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic and reported reductions in anxiety scores among nurses. In this study, nurse leadership achieved well-being among nurses by offering 10 daylong retreats that promoted mindfulness practices ( Cunningham & Çayir, 2021 ). Because greater emotional and psychological impact has been observed in professionals with less experience and younger nurses, measures to manage the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic should be reinforced in these groups.…”

Supervisory Career Support and Workplace Wellbeing in Chinese Healthcare Workers: The Mediating Role of Career Commitment and the Moderating Role of Future Work Self-Salience

“…The result broadens our understanding of workplace wellbeing from the perspective of career support. In addition, although past studies have established associations between supporting variables and healthcare workers' wellbeing [19,20], this study explains why this may be the case by drawing attention to career commitment as a linking mechanism. Prior study has suggested that supervisory support can promote employees' career management [67].…”

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