A research project has begun in Bradford to investigate how nurses can strengthen resilience in the workplace.
The Burdett Trust for Nursing has given Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust £82,000 in funding to find out how clinicians and other healthcare staff can take action to combat stressful working environments following on from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study will take place over the next 12 months and will be headed by Assistant Chief Nurse for Quality and Safety Research, Angela Grange and will assess a coaching tool for nurses called RE-BOOT (REcovery-BOOsting) to support critical care nurses prepare for, and help recovery after high-pressure stressful situations at work.
Dr Grange said: “RE-BOOT has already been tested as a face-to face, psychological intervention with other staff groups but this new research will see if it can be translated into an online format for critical care nurses given the challenges of delivering programmes like this during the pandemic.
“The nurses will take part in small, remote group workshops and there will be follow-up coaching calls led by a psychological therapist. During the workshops, they will get the opportunity to learn practical, cognitive-behavioural strategies and receive information to help strengthen their coping mechanisms when dealing with stressful events at work. The nurses will be asked to practise these techniques at home after each session to explore which approach works best for them.”
The 80 nurses selected for the research are part of West Yorkshire Critical Care Network, which includes the following six NHS trusts: Bradford Teaching Hospitals, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, The Mid-Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, and Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.
Chief Executive of the Burdett Trust, Shirley Baines, said: “RE-BOOT is one of 19 nurse-led projects across the UK that our Trust has funded in a specific funding call for nurse-led projects that can strengthen resilience in the nursing workforce during the pandemic.
“Angela’s project particularly attracted our interest because of the importance of the topic of supporting nurses working in highly stressful clinical environments such as critical care and the potential for her results to be adopted in other healthcare settings where staff would benefit from strategies to deal with these stressful events before they arise.”
