Interventional Studies to Support the Spiritual Self-Care of Health Care Practitioners: An Integrative Review of the Literature

Effects of a brief interpersonal mindfulness program embedded in a psychiatric nursing practicum: A controlled pilot study

BACKGROUND

Nursing school is a stressful environment that demands high performance both professionally and academically. Interpersonal mindfulness training has shown promise for its stress-reducing capacity in other contexts; however, few descriptions or tests of this method in nursing training settings exist in the literature.

PURPOSE

This pilot study examined effects of a brief interpersonal mindfulness program embedded in a 4-week psychiatric nursing practicum in Thailand.

METHODS

Mixed methods were used with 31 fourth-year nursing students to measure changes in mindfulness and assess their experiences of the program's impact. The control and experimental groups received the same clinical training, but the experimental group was also trained to practice interpersonal mindfulness throughout the course.

FINDINGS

The experimental group reported statistically significantly greater increases in Observing, Describing, and Non-reacting subscale scores, and in scores for the overall Five-Facet Mindfulness questionnaire, Thai version, than the control group (p < .05, Cohen's d = 0.83-0.95, large effect sizes). Group interviews revealed themes: initial challenges to mindfulness practice, experiences of becoming more mindful, intrapersonal benefits, and consequences of mindfulness on interpersonal skills.

CONCLUSION

Overall, an interpersonal mindfulness program embedded in a psychiatric nursing practicum was effective. Further studies are required to address limitations of the present study.

Evaluation of a Brief Stress Management Workshop for Incoming Nursing Students

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief stress management workshop on nursing students' perceived stress and resilience. Students who received the stress management intervention during orientation had significantly higher resilience scores and lower stress scores 1 year later during COVID-19 than the comparison group.

Self-Caring Practices Among Nurses: Findings From an Online Survey

Faith community nurses receive additional education in holistic health and intentional spiritual care, including self-caring. This study used an online survey to explore self-caring practices of faith community nurses and clinical nurses. Despite sample limitations, faith community nurses reported significantly higher levels of self-caring practices than clinical nurses.

Factors contributing to burnout in dermatologists

Physician burnout is associated with increased medical errors, lower patient satisfaction, and decreased professional work effort. Although rates of burnout are lower in dermatology than in other specialties, the prevalence is still high and increasing. Burnout affects both personal and patient care. It is important to consider factors and ways to combat this phenomenon to prevent deterioration. To achieve this, a comprehensive understanding of the causes contributing to burnout in dermatology is crucial. To date, a limited number of publications have specifically addressed burnout in dermatology. In this contribution, burnout in dermatology, burnout prevention, and promotion of dermatologist wellness through the systemic approach of the Stanford model for professional fulfillment, which includes creating a culture of wellness, workplace efficiency, and resilience, are reviewed.

Mindfulness meditation for workplace wellness: An evidence map

BACKGROUND

Mindfulness interventions aim to foster greater attention and awareness of present moment experiences. Uptake of mindfulness programs in the workplace has grown as organizations look to support employee health, wellbeing, and performance.

OBJECTIVE

In support of evidence-based decision making in workplace contexts, we created an evidence map summarizing physical and mental health, cognitive, affective, and interpersonal outcomes from systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of mindfulness interventions.

METHODS

We searched nine electronic databases to July 2017, dually-screened all reviews, and consulted topic experts to identify systematic reviews on mindfulness interventions. The distribution of evidence is presented as an evidence map in a bubble plot.

RESULTS

In total, 175 systematic reviews met inclusion criteria. Reviews included a variety of mindfulness-based interventions. The largest review included 109 randomized controlled trials. The majority of these addressed general health, psychological conditions, chronic illness, pain, and substance use. Twenty-six systematic reviews assessed studies conducted in workplace settings and with healthcare professionals, educators, and caregivers. The evidence map shows the prevalence of research by the primary area of focus. An outline of promising applications of mindfulness interventions is included.

CONCLUSIONS

The evidence map provides an overview of existing mindfulness research. It shows the body of available evidence to inform policy and organizational decision-making supporting employee wellbeing in work contexts.

Oncologist heal thyself: hallmarks of happiness

It is 18h30 on a Friday; clinic ran late again. [...]