Problem Description
Nurses are subject to great emotional and physical stress. Under prolonged exposure to stress, a protective reaction is formed, known as emotional burnout syndrome.
Available Knowledge
Studies show that due to emotional burnout, the profession ceases to bring satisfaction to nurses, on the contrary, it becomes a burden (Bakhamis et al., 2019). Hence, dissatisfaction with life and, possibly, depression may arise in nurses.
Summary of Current Knowledge
Currently it is known that the very professional activity of the nursing staff involves stress. The burnout syndrome is partly a protective reaction, since it allows the nurse to dose and economically spend energy resources.
Rationale
Framework
In the study the framework of emotional burnout will apply as a specific reaction of the nurse’s psyche to various negative factors of their life.
Model
The model under study will be a constant stressful working environment.
Concept
The study will use the concept of a long-term reaction to long-term stress that occurs in people who are forced by their occupation to communicate intensively and confidentially with people.
Theory Used to Explain the Problem
With the help of the fishbone diagram presented in Figure 1, it can be seen that, according to theory, the main causes of emotional burnout in nurses are discrimination between the workload and renumeration of medical workers and insufficient funding of the healthcare sector (Chen et al., 2020).
Reasons & Assumptions Used to Develop the Intervention
The reasons and assumptions that were used to develop the intervention are the direct negative impact of nurses’ emotional burnout on patient outcome and satisfaction.
Reasons the Intervention is Expected to Work
Reasons the intervention was expected to work is unloading nurses and reducing workload intensity as a result of the project.
Specific Aims
Purpose of the Project
The aim of the project is to reduce the percentage of nurses suffering from emotional burnout.
Project Goals
The project aims to reduce the emotional and physical burden on nurses.
Methods
Context
The context of this research is the level of explanation and understanding, consisting of a concept, theory and model, as well as the level of obtaining primary scientific information – experimental data.
Important Contextual Elements
Contextual elements considered important at the expense of introducing the intervention is detailed survey data obtained from nurses and data obtained from scientific medical literature.
Intervention
Description
Interventions that will be implemented include the search for new mid-level medical staff and work to improve management. In addition, workshops and employee training will be held.
Team Members & Roles
Members of the team participating in the project are HR-manager, nurses and head manager of medical institution. The role of HR will be to conduct interviews and hire new employees, the role of the medical department will be to participate in surveys and trainings, and the role of the manager will be to reorganize the workflow (McNulty et al., 2022).
Change Monitoring & Data Collection
The changes will be monitored through a comparative analysis of feedback received from nurses and patients before and after implementations. Data will be collected through a survey of medical staff and clients of a medical institution.
Study of the Intervention
Signs the Change is Working
Signs that the change is working will be an improvement in the physical and emotional well-being of nurses.
Evaluating the Change
The changes will be evaluated on a 10-point scale using a questionnaire with open- and closed-answer questions.
Observed Outcomes
An indicator that the observed outcomes here due to the intervention will be a separate item in the survey regarding the effect of interventions. For example, the survey will contain items regarding the assessment of the usefulness of knowledge obtained at trainings and workshops.
Measures
Tracking Change & Performance
Measures used for tracking change and performance will include an intermediate evaluation control. It will be conducted after each significant stage in order to identify the need to adjust the plan. Not only team members, but also clients of the medical institution will be involved in the process of tracking change and performance.
Validating Results
The results will be validated using the “result-goal” and “result-start” validation methods, evaluating both how much has been done compared to the initial position, and how close the desired effect is (Hellyar et al., 2019).
Methods for Assessing Completeness & Accuracy of Data
Methods employed for assessing completeness and accuracy of data will be conducted using a descriptive assessment. A nominal scale will be used to record information that does not have a ranked order (Adams et al., 2019). Since this kind of data array cannot be evaluated from the point of view of any significant statistical indicators, the method of mode – estimation of the most common variable value will be used.
Analysis
Qualitative & Quantitative Methods
The method of qualitative analysis – identification – will give information about which elements are included in the analyzed result. Quantitative analysis – a statistical method – will allow you to determine the quantitative content of the components of the analyzed result.
Results
Expected Results
The results that are expected because of the intervention are an increase in nurses’ satisfaction with their emotional and physical condition.
Details of the Process Measures & Outcome
The process measure will consist in a regular assessment of the achievement of intermediate goals. At the estimated time of completion of each of the stages, the estimated transformations will be evaluated. The process measure will consist in assessing the sustainability of the results obtained and matching the real costs with the estimated ones.
Potentially Observed Associations
Potentially observed association between outcomes, interventions, and relevant contextual elements include improved outcomes with greater intensity of interventions as a result of strict guidance by the relevant contextual elements.
Plan for Intervention Testing
The plan for testing intervention under different conditions will include an assessment of the physical and emotional state of nurses under conditions of different intensity.
Conditions of Iteration of Testing
The conditions of the second iteration of testing will be the collection and analysis of requirements. The conditions of the third iteration of testing will be developing a solution to meet the requirements. The conditions of the fourth iteration of testing will be data encoding, integration and testing.
Discussion
Budget & Cost-Benefit Analysis
The budget of this project will be $20,500, taking into account all master classes and hiring new employees (Adams et al., 2019). Cost-benefits for the first year will be $424,500.
Communication Plan
The communication methods will be reports and email. The communication tools used will be a tabular form of information presentation. The discussion plans will be an assessment of the success of the intermediate stages of the project.
Risk Management Plan
The Risk Management Plan will consist in the elimination of the consequences of an event that may damage the implementation of the intermediate stages of the project.
References
Adams, A., Hollingsworth, A., & Osman, A. (2019). The implementation of a cultural change toolkit to reduce nursing burnout and mitigate nurse turnover in the emergency department. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 45(4), 452–456.
Bakhamis, L., Paul, D. P., Smith, H., & Coustasse, A. (2019). Still an epidemic: The burnout syndrome in hospital registered nurses. The Health Care Manager, 1(13), 3–10.
Chen, Q., Gottlieb, L., Liu, D., Tang, S., & Bai, Y. (2020). The nurse outcomes and patient outcomes following the high-quality care project. International Nursing Review, 18(5), 1–10.
Hellyar, M., Madani, C., Yeaman, S., O’Connor, K., Kerr, K., & Davidson, J. (2019). Case study investigation decreases burnout while improving interprofessional teamwork, nurse satisfaction, and patient safety. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly, 42(1), 96–105.
McNulty, D. S., LaMonica-Way, C., & Senneff, J. A. (2022). The impact of mindfulness on stress and burnout of new graduate nurses as a component of a nurse residency program. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 52(4), 12–18.