We must invest in the health of nurses. We will implement evidence-based wellness interventions to keep our nursing workforce healthy, so they can provide the best health care to others. By providing resources to address escalated burnout and mental health conditions, we aim to improve the recruitment and retention crisis of nurses.
FUNDING
This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under U3NHP45394-01-00, Nebraska Collaborative Investment in Nurses: Resiliency, Retention, & Well-being, $2,245,694. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
BACKGROUND
Health care workers face many challenges and stressors due to high patient volumes, long work hours and workplace demands. Those challenges have been amplified by the pandemic. There is a need for a broader focus on wellness, covering the whole nursing career continuum, from trainees to practicing nurses, addressing burnout and mental health conditions.
In a 2021 report from the American Nurses Association , 75% of the nurses surveyed reported they felt “stressed”, 67% felt “exhausted”, 62% were “overwhelmed” and 51% felt they were “overworked”. On a personal level, when members of this research team saw family members and colleagues struggling throughout the pandemic along with reading reported high rates of burnout, the team came together and saw this grant as a feasible approach to provide some relief and equip nurses with the skills and resources to avoid further burnout.
Burnout and mental health concerns are an ongoing issue for nurses, and it’s going to take a large investment at a systems level. This grant provides steps in the right direction.
ACTION
The UNMC College of Nursing has received a three-year (2022-2024), $2.2 million grant to work with partners across Nebraska to develop and deploy resources that will promote resiliency and mental health in the nursing workforce. It will be aimed at nursing students, registered nurses and advanced practice registered nurses, as well as their employers, working in rural and medically underserved areas.
The grant team will adapt and deliver evidence-based wellness interventions and provide subsequent resources into rural and medically underserved areas in nursing, including our Critical Access Hospitals across the state. Goals of the grant are to aid in management of stressful situations, avoid burnout, and address mental health conditions. The grant will embed wellness interventions into UNMC nursing curriculum, create and evaluate train-the-trainer models and provide free continuing education to practicing Nebraska nurses and their employers across Nebraska.
MEET THE HRSA TEAM
- Project Director: Alyson Hanish, Ph.D., MSN, RN
- Project Coordinator: Kami Wattenbach, MBA
- Evaluation Coordinator: Tiffany Moore, Ph.D., RN
- Sustainability Coordinator: Lynnette Leeseberg Stamler, Ph.D., RN, FAAN
- Office of Continuing Interprofessional Development and Innovation (CiPDI) Director: Heidi Keeler, Ph.D., RN
- Academic Success Coaches: Bobbie Barton, MHEA & Ann Callies
- Faculty Collaborator/DEI specialist: Marica Shade, PhD, RN
- Faculty Collaborator: Jessica Semin, DNP, MPH, RN
- Psychiatric NP Director: Therese Mathews, Ph.D., APRN-NP, BCBA-D
- Psychiatric NP Faculty: Lyndsay Dean, DNP, RN, APRN-NP
- Psychiatrist: Rebecca Wysoske, MD
- Psychiatrist: Steven Wengel, MD
- Psychologist: Katrina Cordts, Ph.D., LP
- Director, Wellness Programming/Psychologist: Alison Delizza, Ph.D., LP
- Faculty Collaborator: Lisa Walters, MSHSM, RN
- Faculty Collaborator: Deborah Levy, Ph.D., MPH
- Collaborator: Keith Hansen, MBA
- Collaborator: Krista Brown, Ph.D., MPH.
- Graduate assistants at the CON and COPH
- Partnerships: Nebraska Board of Nursing, Nebraska Center for Nursing, and Nebraska Hospital Association
AIM INFORMATION
3 Year Grant (2022-2024)
- The overall purpose of this Nebraska Collaborative Investment is to deliver wellness-based interventions and resources to address and reduce burnout and mental health conditions for those working in rural and medically underserved areas across Nebraska
- Undergrad & graduate nursing students
- Practicing RNs & APRNs
This grant has the following AIM’s.
AIM 1:
- Implement and evaluate resiliency-based interventions utilizing the WHOLE resiliency program for undergraduate nursing students working in rural/MUAs
- Including a student success software platform
AIM 2:
- Develop, implement, and evaluate train-the-trainer models for the WHOLE program using psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner students & promote strategies to address behavioral/mental health RN shortages
- September 2022 “Heal the Healers” conference
AIM 3:
- Design, implement, and evaluate a Psychological First Aid & WHOLE wellness program via the ECHO model, available with no cost continued education offerings for RNs and APRNs
AIM 4:
- Develop community-based partnerships to adopt the Critical Incident Stress Management model, including implementing and evaluating pilot models of Critical Incident Management Debriefing to address the needs of nurses at the time of crisis