Browsing by Author "Schwendimann, Rene"

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    A qualitative analysis of the Three Good Things intervention in healthcare workers.
    (BMJ open, 2017-06-13) Rippstein-Leuenberger, Karin; Mauthner, Oliver; Bryan Sexton, J; Schwendimann, Rene
    BACKGROUND:Intensive care unit (ICU) personnel have an elevated prevalence of job-related burn-out and post-traumatic stress disorder, which can ultimately impact patient care. To strengthen healthcare workers' skills to deal with stressful events, it is important to focus not only on minimising suffering but also on increasing happiness, as this entails many more benefits than simply feeling good. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the content of the 'good things' reported by healthcare workers participating in the 'Three Good Things' intervention. METHODS:In a tertiary care medical centre, a sample of 89 neonatal ICU (NICU) healthcare professionals registered for the online intervention. Of these, 32 individuals eventually participated fully in the 14-day online Three Good Things intervention survey. Daily emails reminded participants to reflect on and respond to the questions: "What are the three things that went well today?" and "What was your role in bringing them about?" To analyse their responses, we applied a thematic analysis, which was guided by our theoretical understanding of resilience. RESULTS:Involving more than 1300 statements, the Three Good Things responses of the 32 study participants, including registered nurses, physicians and neonatal nurse practitioners, led to the identification of three main themes: (1) having a good day at work; (2) having supportive relationships and (3) making meaningful use of self-determined time. CONCLUSIONS:The findings show the personal and professional relevance of supportive relationships strengthened by clear communication and common activities that foster positive emotions. The Three Good Things exercise acknowledges the importance of self-care in healthcare workers and appears to promote well-being, which might ultimately strengthen resilience.
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    Providing feedback following Leadership WalkRounds is associated with better patient safety culture, higher employee engagement and lower burnout.
    (BMJ quality & safety, 2018-04) Sexton, J Bryan; Adair, Kathryn C; Leonard, Michael W; Frankel, Terri Christensen; Proulx, Joshua; Watson, Sam R; Magnus, Brooke; Bogan, Brittany; Jamal, Maleek; Schwendimann, Rene; Frankel, Allan S
    BACKGROUND:There is a poorly understood relationship between Leadership WalkRounds (WR) and domains such as safety culture, employee engagement, burnout and work-life balance. METHODS:This cross-sectional survey study evaluated associations between receiving feedback about actions taken as a result of WR and healthcare worker assessments of patient safety culture, employee engagement, burnout and work-life balance, across 829 work settings. RESULTS:16 797 of 23 853 administered surveys were returned (70.4%). 5497 (32.7% of total) reported that they had participated in WR, and 4074 (24.3%) reported that they participated in WR with feedback. Work settings reporting more WR with feedback had substantially higher safety culture domain scores (first vs fourth quartile Cohen's d range: 0.34-0.84; % increase range: 15-27) and significantly higher engagement scores for four of its six domains (first vs fourth quartile Cohen's d range: 0.02-0.76; % increase range: 0.48-0.70). CONCLUSION:This WR study of patient safety and organisational outcomes tested relationships with a comprehensive set of safety culture and engagement metrics in the largest sample of hospitals and respondents to date. Beyond measuring simply whether WRs occur, we examine WR with feedback, as WR being done well. We suggest that when WRs are conducted, acted on, and the results are fed back to those involved, the work setting is a better place to deliver and receive care as assessed across a broad range of metrics, including teamwork, safety, leadership, growth opportunities, participation in decision-making and the emotional exhaustion component of burnout. Whether WR with feedback is a manifestation of better norms, or a cause of these norms, is unknown, but the link is demonstrably potent.