Building a healthy work environment: a nursing resource team perspective.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Healthy Work Environments (HWEs) significantly impact patient care quality and nurse job satisfaction.
• Inconsistencies in HWEs were anecdotally observed across inpatient departments at LHSC.
• The Nursing Resource Team (NRT) role provides a unique perspective for assessing HWEs due to its mobility and cross-departmental exposure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the status of HWEs at LHSC from the perspective of NRT nurses.
• To identify specific indicators of HWEs that require improvement within LHSC.
• To gather data for developing targeted strategies to enhance HWEs.

Main Methods:

• Adaptation of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments.
• Development and administration of the 'Building a Healthy Work Environment: A Nursing Resource Team Perspective' survey.
• Evaluation of departments based on indicators: skilled communication, true collaboration, effective decision-making, appropriate staffing, meaningful recognition, and authentic leadership.

Main Results:

• Data collected on NRT nurses' perceptions of HWEs across LHSC departments.
• Identified variations in HWE indicators among different inpatient units.
• Provided a baseline understanding of HWEs for leadership and staff.

Conclusions:

• The NRT CQI Council's investigation provides crucial insights into HWEs at LHSC.
• The collected data will guide the development of evidence-based strategies to foster healthier work environments.
• Enhancing HWEs is essential for improving patient care quality and nursing staff satisfaction.