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PT 8 Ways for Hospital Managament to Support their Nurses
February 12, 2024
Improving the well-being of nurses is a shared responsibility, with nurses themselves and the larger systems and organizations playing vital roles. Nurses need to take responsibility for recognizing their own well-being needs and making investments in their health, while healthcare organizations should establish conditions that support well-being and integrity. In this blog post, we focus on exploring several tips for healthcare employers to foster a healthier and more supportive work environment for nurses.
1. The right ergonomic tools make a difference
When taking care of patients with limited mobility, having the correct tools can greatly improve the situation. Such tools allow healthcare workers to fulfil their tasks in a safe, efficient and gentle manner for their bodies. Ultimately this will also lead to increased patient comfort. Here are a few tools to consider:
- Patient lifts – Both active and passive lifts assist healthcare providers in lifting and transferring patients.
- Inflatable cushions – Positioning and lifting patients without healthcare workers ergonomically burdening their back.
- Adjustable Beds – Prevents healthcare workers from straining their bodies during patient care.
2. Offer managerial support and appreciation
Support and appreciation from managers are essential resources for nurses and midwives, as they value feeling valued and acknowledged in their work. Managerial support becomes even more critical during challenging times when nurses may be ill or dealing with a heavy workload. For example: “I see that you have had a tough day today and I just wanted to say that you are doing a fantastic job and I do what I can from my side.”
Nurses appreciate managers who take an active interest in their work, offer timely feedback, and express genuine appreciation. Accurate and timely communication from managers is vital in preventing conflicts among colleagues and fostering a positive work atmosphere.
3. Provide the right education
Using ergonomic tools is not always possible. Therefore it’s important that nurses receive training in safe manual lifting techniques, supporting patients and moving them to prevent injuries.
On the other hand, simply providing ergonomic tools is also not enough to reduce physical complaints. You need to give nurses proper training on how to use these tools effectively. Training should include the assessment of patients’ mobility levels, as patients are classified into five mobility classes ranging from fully active to fully passive. Understanding a patient’s mobility class helps healthcare workers determine the appropriate tools for the task.
4. Importance of collegial support and teamwork
Given the increasing complexity of care needs, care must increasingly be rolled out as team work. Sharing the workload among a team of healthcare providers can significantly reduce the physical strain on individual nurses. Encouraging teamwork not only lightens the physical load but also improves overall job satisfaction. That’s why training healthcare workers to collaborate effectively in teams can be of great value. But current financing and collaboration structures hinder rather than facilitate such collaboration.
5. Accommodations for returning nurses
When nurses return to a care setting after an injury, they may require accommodations to avoid re-injury. This could involve working in areas with reduced patient handling or lower acuity in ambulatory settings. Rest periods are highly important, so nurses should balance standing and sitting when returning to work after a low-back injury.
Some clinicians may also recommend wearing a lumbosacral support, which will help support your lower back and abdomen. Employers should consider whether the post-injury period requires a prescription that may affect the ability to provide safe patient care.
Resilience training programs can also be useful for promoting recovery. They are a valuable asset in reducing stress levels among nurses. Programs that incorporate activities like yoga, mindfulness-based stress reduction and meditation have been proven effective. Employers should strongly consider incorporating such programs to support their nursing staff’s mental well-being.
6. More autonomy
Many nurses say they need more freedom at work to feel valued and happy in their jobs. In scientific studies, this idea of nurses having a say in their work and care they provide is called ‘shared governance,’ and it’s really important for them. Nurses often feel like they’re just following orders from other healthcare professionals or organizations, without much say. They want more freedom to use their knowledge and evidence from research to make decisions.
7. Consult a prevention advisor
Knowing that every healthcare organization faces unique challenges, a one-size-fits-all approach won’t be effective everywhere. To address physical strain effectively, consider involving a prevention advisor. They can assess the specific risks within your organization and recommend tailored solutions.
8. Reducing administrative burden
Finally, employers could take steps to reduce the administrative burden on nurses. A study by Berlin and others in 2023 found that over a third of nursing respondents felt they were spending too much time on electronic health records during their breaks or after their work shifts had ended. Additionally, 45% of them said that this extra work made their day more frustrating.
Employers can help lessen this workload by finding ways to have nursing assistants do some of the paperwork, cutting down on how much paperwork is needed, or using artificial intelligence to help with the paperwork.
Sources:
- Back pain hits nurses hard. Can employers help? | Guardian. (n.d.). GuardianLife. https://www.guardianlife.com/absence-management/blog/back-pain-hits-nurses
- Berlin, G., Burns, F., Hanley, A., Herbig, B., Judge, K., & Murphy, M. (2023, November 6). Understanding and prioritizing nurses’ mental health and well-being. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare/our-insights/understanding-and-prioritizing-nurses-mental-health-and-well-being
- (2023). Ergonomie in de zorg: Belang en tips. BOBEX (Bobex-web008). Retrieved February 1, 2024, from https://www.bobex.be/nl-be/welzijn-op-het-werk/gezondheid/ergonomie/zorg/
Goossens, E. (2023, August 11). Tekort aan verpleegkundigen oplossen: Alleen een hoger loon zal niet volstaan. Knack. https://www.knack.be/nieuws/belgie/maatschappij/tekort-aan-verpleegkundigen-oplossen-alleen-een-hoger-loon-zal-niet-volstaan/
National Academies Press (US). (2021, May 11). Supporting the Health and Professional Well-Being of Nurses. The Future of Nursing 2020-2030 – NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573902/
- Thapa DR, Ekström-Bergström A, Krettek A, Areskoug-Josefsson K. Support and resources to promote and sustain health among nurses and midwives in the workplace: A qualitative study. Nordic Journal of Nursing Research. 2021;41(3):166-174. doi:1177/2057158520988452
Ergotrics
Ergotrics is a Med-Tech company specialized in positioning and moving patients with compressed air. We design and produce inflatable medical devices, which allow optimal positioning of patients in hospitals. We design our products with special attention given to ease of use and hygiene. By using compressed air instead of manual force, we want to provide better support for patients without ergonomic burden for the healthcare worker.
