Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1491534
22 NURSING SPOTLIGHT during COVID-19, we put in several programs that we want to continue. We have a mental health first aid program. We have a new EAP program. We have a program called healing together: an introduction to mind body medicine. We have zen rooms and a variety of things like that across the system, and we realize that the reason we need to have a variety is because not everybody is the same. Different nurses and different people have different things that could help them with the difficulties of our work these days. One of the things we do that might be a little bit different is a program where we actually provide wellness for our employees in a way that they can take care of themselves and we reward them to do it. Within that self- care program called My Wellness, we have programs where people can learn about mindfulness, how to build resilience, how to manage pain, and virtual fitness and nutrition classes — those sorts of things. When we talk about resilience, it's also about your employees' health. We have them sign up for this program if they want to, and they get rewarded with points that are worth something. ey can turn them in for things they can buy or cash. It's one way to help people take care of themselves because an issue with nursing is that when we offer a variety of programs like this, not all of [the nurses] feel that they have the time because the majority are women who have a lot of responsibilities at home, and they oen don't take care of themselves. So this is one of our ways to say, "OK, we are offering all of this, but guess what? We're also going to reward you for taking care of yourself because we think it's that important." Q: Are there any other significant changes or improvements to the nursing workforce you're hoping to see in 2023? KS: We asked our nurses in 2021 what it is they wanted — a list of all the things that would make work even more rewarding or less stressful. And they gave us a long list, so last year we went market by market and had about 200 nurses give us input in our focus group as to what they wanted [to prioritize.] What I tell people is look at this long list because these are all the things that we want to do — and we intend to do them all — but we can't do them all at once, so we have to figure out what's most important. ese are the top four that they told us: 1. Shared governance throughout the entire U.S. — a formal shared governance program where they know nurses have a voice in everything that affects them. 2. A program for personal growth. ey would like it to be about them as individuals. Not everyone is going to stay at the bedside for 40 years and there are so many different jobs that nurses can do, but nurses don't always know what those are, how to change or get the education and certifications they would need to change. ey're asking us for some help in personal growth surrounding how they can make decisions about their careers. 3. Closer academic partnerships. Nurses realize that if we're going to have great teams, we have to have more people on the teams. We have a couple really strong academic partnerships in our various markets and we're working on some others to make nationally. We're working with [Atlanta-based] Morehouse School of Medicine and [Los Angeles-based Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in California to increase diversity in nursing, and we have several others that we are talking to right now. 4. A continuation of wellness, health and resilience. Wellness and resilience isn't a pillar by itself; all of these other things [above] matter. e things that nurses are telling us they want lead to resilience. A class about resilience, burnout — it's all very helpful, but root cause needs to be looked at. So the other three things nurses are telling us they want will support resilience, as well as our efforts with the residency program, virtual nursing and the ability to do things like travel. n Nurses' least rewarding part of the job + 5 more notes on career satisfaction By Erica Carbajal N urses point to workplace politics as the least rewarding aspect of their job, according to Medscape's 2022 report on nurse career satisfaction. About 21 percent of registered nurses and 18 percent of licensed practical nurses selected workplace politics as the least reporting aspect of the job, making it the most commonly selected response. The report, published Dec. 9, is based on a survey of 7,540 practicing nurses polled between May 3, 2022 and July 26, 2022. Most respondents were registered nurses, with half as many nurse practitioners and licensed practical nurses. Five more findings: 1. Nearly 30 percent of RNs and LPNs said that making a difference in people's lives is the most rewarding aspect of the job, making it the top-selected response. 2. Nearly half of respondents have experienced emotional abuse, according to the survey. RNs who experienced emotional abuse indicated a manager or administrator was responsible 50 percent of the time. 3. At least 39 percent of respondents in each position category said the pandemic decreased their satisfaction with being a nurse, with RNs (52 percent) and LPNs (44 percent) most likely to report this. 4. In each nursing position category, at least 25 percent of respondents reported being burned out or very burned out. LPNs and RNs reported the highest levels of burnout at 37 percent and 36 percent, respectively. This is similar to the levels reported in Medscape's 2021 nurse career satisfaction survey. 5. At the same time, most respondents (72 percent) said they are happy with their career choice. Twenty-seven percent said they would not choose nursing again, and 1 percent indicated they had not been in the profession long enough to make that determination. n