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  • AN INNOVATIVE METHOD TO DEC...
    Turkoglu, Nicole; Robinson, Nadeen; Henriquez, Juliet Hernandez; Shenoy, Archana

    Oncology nursing forum, 03/2023, Letnik: 50, Številka: 2
    Journal Article

    Oncology Nursing Practice Oncology nurses are exposed to many stressors while caring for the complex needs of cancer patients, which leads to burnout. The nurses on an inpatient medical oncology unit at an NYC academic medical center expressed many feelings of burnout in the work environment post the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two years later, nurses are still expressing and experiencing burnout. The purpose was to decrease oncology nurses' perceptions of nursing burnout through evidenced-based interventions. A survey was used to assess the current level of nurse burnout and ask the nurses to rank different activities in order of importance to help with decreasing the perception of burnout among staff. From May to August 2022, interventions to decrease nurse burnout were implemented such as, uninterrupted breaks, staff recognition using e-cards, organized outdoor group activities, and information on wellbeing-coaches and counseling available to staff. Burnout was measured with a 1 item question on a 5-point Likert scale validated previously in nurses to measure burnout. Items 1-2 indicate no burnout and items 3-5 indicate some level of burnout from "burning out" to "burnout won't go away" to "completely burned out." The burnout level of nurses equals 2.93 in May 2022 (n=46). This is at the higher end of 2, closer to 3, where 3 means some level of burnout. Participants were asked to rank 13 activities related to resilience and decreasing burnout in order of importance. The staff rated 1st: uninterrupted break, 2nd: time to unplug, 3rd: taking a break outside, 4th: group outings/activities, 5th: meditation/mindfulness was tied with view of outside during break, and 6th: recognition. Post implementation, in July (n=37) the burnout level was 2.89 and in August (n=31) burnout level was 2.98. Helping nurses deal with nurse burnout is multifactorial. Although the interventions implemented did not decrease perceptions of nurse burnout, staff were empowered to help each other and increase unity among staff. The staff felt like it was in their control to act towards improving their work environment and an improvement in staff morale was palpable. Over the past 6 months of the burnout project, a new shared governance unit council emerged to help further the professional practice of staff, increase staff engagement, and increase oncology nursing educational opportunities.