Editor's Note Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, on May 23, issued an Advisory highlighting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers (HCWs) and the urgent need to address HCW burnout across the country. Among the Advisory’s recommendations: Transforming workplace cultures to empower HCWs and be responsive to their…
COVID-19 has had a tremendous impact on nurses and other frontline healthcare workers. Just about everyone has been affected by shortages of basic supplies like personal protective equipment (PPE), syringes, and IV tubing, and staffing issues are even more concerning, says Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, president and CEO of Ofstead…
Editor's Note In this session, Robin Kaufman, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, NEA-BC, associate chief nurse, perianesthesia, procedural, and ambulatory services at Brigham and Woman’s Faulkner Hospital (BWFH), and Jeffrey Blackwell, MHA, FACHE, senior director, perioperative business operations, at UMass Memorial Medical Center, tackled how to strengthen interdisciplinary partnerships via co-leadership and…
Editor's Note This study by nurse researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles evaluates the effect of “serenity lounges” (ie, dedicated rooms where nurses can take breaks to relax and rejuvenate) and massage chairs on nurse anxiety, stress, and burnout, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers analyzed 67 paired…
Editor's Note This study by nurse researchers at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, California, provides evidence that classical music virtual reality (VR) may reduce burnout in healthcare workers (HCWs). A total of 71 HCWs completed 3 sessions of VR and took a baseline survey before engaging in VR and a…
