Don't Just Survive, Thrive: Understanding How Acute Psychiatric Nurses Develop Resilience

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Psychiatric Nursing
• Mental Health

Background:

• High prevalence of mental illness in Canada necessitates effective strategies for retaining registered nurses (RNs) in acute psychiatric settings.
• Nurse retention is a significant challenge in specialized healthcare environments.
• Resilience has been identified as a critical factor for RNs' sustained practice in demanding psychiatric roles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the key factors and processes involved in developing resilience among registered nurses working in acute psychiatric hospital settings.
• To understand how RNs can survive and thrive in their practice through enhanced resilience.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving interviews with four registered nurses.
• Exploration of participants' experiences and perceptions of resilience development.

Main Results:

• Four key themes emerged in developing resilience: maintaining a "vast" perspective, becoming an "expert" of self, clarifying "belief systems," and being "present" through "staying awake."
• Participants viewed resilience development as an individual process with a shared conceptualization.
• Self-development was highlighted as central to building personal resilience.

Conclusions:

• Developing personal resilience is essential for registered nurses in acute psychiatric settings.
• Strategies such as broadening perspective, self-awareness, clarifying beliefs, and mindfulness can foster resilience.
• Fostering individual resilience may contribute to improved nurse retention in mental health care.