Improving Teamwork and Resiliency of Burn Center Nurses Through a Standardized Staff Development Program

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Occupational Health
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Staff stress and burnout are significant concerns in acute care nursing units, impacting patient care and retention.
• The Burn Progressive Care Unit (BPCU) at the U.S. Army Burn center faces challenges with nursing staff stress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a training platform for nursing staff education and teambuilding.
• Objectives included improving nurse satisfaction, increasing resiliency, building unit cohesion, enhancing morale, and increasing awareness of unit performance.

Main Methods:

• An 8-hour staff development day (SDD) was implemented, with half dedicated to education and half to teambuilding and resiliency.
• Participant feedback was collected using a 10-point scale evaluation after the training sessions.

Main Results:

• High participation rates (96%) were observed in the first two SDDs.
• Participants consistently rated the training activities highly, with average scores of 9.15 ± 0.26 in Spring 2015 and 9.36 ± 0.13 in Fall 2015.
• Staff feedback indicated success in building unit cohesion and increasing satisfaction and morale.

Conclusions:

• The SDD program effectively supported teamwork and resiliency among BPCU staff.
• The training initiative successfully met its objectives for enhancing the nursing unit's work environment and staff well-being.