With Caroline Ortiz, RN, MSN, MPH, CCAP, CMI; Christine Gilchrist, RN, MSN, MPH, NC-BC; and Jeanne Kenney, RN, BSN, HN-BC, CCAP
As a population, nurses are measurably more stressed-out than most people. Despite plenty of evidence that unmanaged stress amongst nurses often causes poor health, leading to medical errors, frequent sick days, and high job turnover, nurses have had very few options for stress management. Seeing a problem that needed addressing, Caroline Ortiz, who teaches at PCOM’s New York campus, embarked upon a 3-year Integrative Stress Management Program with Christine Gilchrist and Jeanne Kenney.
The program included holistic modalities like reiki, aromatherapy, meditation, and breath awareness, offering staff the chance to experience integrative methods during work hours within the in-patient care setting. Over the course of the study, nurses’ perception of their own stress dropped markedly, with better stress-handling techniques and job satisfaction filtering through to patients through improvements in nurses’ job performance.
An IRB expedited review is pending for a retrospective study analyzing additional indicators that will show the program’s effect on patients.
Interested in holistic nursing? Check out PCOM-NY’s holistic nursing programs.