If you’ve worked in the ICU then you’ve worked with nurses and, if you’re lucky, you’ve worked with some great ones. Working in multiple units, you may have noticed some differences unit to unit in the dynamics of efficiency, staff retention, and interprofessional dynamics among nurses. Or as the kids would say nowadays, the “vibe” of the unit. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has been studying the Nurse Work Environment since 2005 with the goal of promoting and improving a Healthy Work Environment (HWE).
There are six standards for an HWE according to the AACN, which include: Skilled Communication, True Collaboration, Effective Decision Making, Appropriate Staffing, Meaningful Recognition, and Authentic Leadership. Other than happy nurses, why is an HWE important? Hospitals that get this right can earn the Beacon Award of Excellence, which recognizes units that meet the practices of HWE.
Corinne Preston Young
In October 2022, the AACN released its 2021 Nurse Work Environments Status Report earlier than planned to assess how the public health crisis associated with COVID-19 has affected nurses and their work environment. Unsurprisingly, the results were dissatisfactory; 9,335 nurses from 50 states participated. Starting with the worse score, appropriate staffing, only 20% reported having appropriate and skilled staffing at least 75% of the time in 2021. That is the lowest recorded report, even lower than it was during the 2006 nursing shortage.
Less than 50% felt their organization valued their health and safety, and 72% stated they were verbally, physically, or sexually assaulted on the job. In regard to quality, only 30% of nurses felt the quality of care in their unit was excellent; however, nurse managers, being the optimists that they are, reported higher at 41%. Satisfaction took a nosedive especially in units where HWEs were not implemented. Only 34% of these nurses felt satisfied with their job, and 67% intend on leaving their employer in the next 3 years. Thirty percent of nurses would recommend their unit, and 20% would recommend their employer to others. During the last survey in 2018, 62% of nurses were very satisfied with being a nurse, but, sadly, this dropped to 40% in 2021. Of note, Beacon units did perform higher in most reported areas despite the hardships of COVID-19.
Nurses are the foundation supporting our plan of care, patient outcomes, and patient advocacy. Improving the nurse work environment benefits the entire care team and, most importantly, patient outcomes. AACN recommendations to promote an HWE would require systems to create environments where work is respected and honored, improve communication where a nursing voice is heard in regard to patient care decision making, provide staffing levels that are both appropriate and skilled, and ensure nurses feel valued. As part of the care team, we can hear our nurses and advocate for them. We can have conversations with administration regarding creating HWEs and striving for Beacon status. We can engage nurses in policy development that affects their unit. And, we can stop showing nurses how valuable they are with pizza and give them more meaningful feedback instead. In the 2021 survey, nurses reported positive feedback from patients and families was more meaningful to them than free meals. Encourage your patients and families to give that needed feedback. We could all be better stewards of the nursing profession and starting a conversation about HWEs is a great place to start.