The THRIVE© Program: Building Oncology Nurse Resilience Through Self-Care Strategies

To develop an evidence-based program for addressing the concerns of burnout and secondary trauma and building on the concept of resilience in oncology healthcare providers.

164 oncology staff, of which 160 were nurses, at the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute in Columbus, Ohio.

Oncology nurses and other providers participated in the THRIVE© program, which consists of an eight-hour retreat designed to teach self-care strategies, a six-week private group study interaction on a social media platform, and a two-hour wrap-up session. The Compassion Fatigue Short Scale and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale were used to evaluate the program.

In self-assessments prior to THRIVE, nurse managers demonstrated the greatest degree of burnout, and bedside/chairside nurses demonstrated the greatest degree of secondary trauma. The greatest improvement in average scores from pre- to postprogram assessment was in increased resilience and decreased burnout. Increased resilience scores were sustained for a six-month period after THRIVE participation.

Oncology healthcare providers must identify self-care strategies that build their resilience for long, successful careers.