Search

Why you should read this article: • To acknowledge the importance of mental health professionals' well-being in the workplace • To identify factors that can support mental health professionals to work around service constraints • To find out how staff coped with working in a new community service for children and young people during the pandemic Background: There is a lack of research into the workplace well-being of community mental health professionals. Given children and young people's increasing needs for mental health support in the wake of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, it is timely to explore the workplace well-being of community mental health teams. Aim: To explore the workplace well-being of staff working in a new integrated community mental health service for children and young people. Method: Eleven mental health professionals from a range of disciplines took part in the study. The 11 participants completed an online questionnaire and the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) scale, which measures levels of compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Three of them also took part in an individual semi-structured interview. Findings: Participants felt hopeful and optimistic about the future of the service, felt supported by managers and peers, and wanted to enhance their skills to meet children and young people's increasingly complex needs within the constraints of a service offering brief interventions. Participants displayed high levels of compassion satisfaction, low levels of burnout and particularly low levels of secondary traumatic stress. Conclusion: Emotionally supportive leadership, a culture of continuous learning and peer support may reduce the uncertainty felt by community mental health staff about a new service and create optimism about the future, which may in turn contribute to workplace well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why you should read this article: • To enhance your understanding of workplace bullying, particularly in nurse education • To read about small-scale initiatives implemented in a university to increase awareness of bullying • To recognise how distributed leadership and implementation science can support development and implementation of improvement initiatives Employees are entitled to work in an environment that upholds their dignity and respect, but bullying still exists in many disciplines, including in nurse education and nursing practice. Researchers have suggested that to address bullying employers need to intervene at team and/or organisational level rather than focusing solely on the individuals involved. To reduce the incidence of bullying and other adverse social behaviours in the workplace, many higher education institutions and healthcare organisations have developed dignity and respect (D&R) policies. In this article, the authors describe the development and implementation of several small-scale initiatives designed to increase awareness of bullying and D&R policy among staff and students at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Trinity College Dublin. The interventions were informed by the concepts of distributed leadership and implementation science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Witnessing the discrimination faced by a prisoner brought into the emergency department (ED) where she was working prompted a change of career direction for nurse Sheree-Leigh Woodall. ‘He was wearing handcuffs and everyone was looking at him,’ recalls Ms Woodall, who was recently appointed the first head of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) at independent healthcare provider Practice Plus Group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale and key points: Why you should read this article: • To recognise how to conduct effective appraisals • To be aware of the benefits of regular performance management • To enhance your knowledge of how to structure appraisals and performance reviews Annual appraisals, which are mandatory in most healthcare organisations, are crucial for enhancing staff performance and embedding a culture of continuous improvement within teams. Appraisals can be usefully complemented by ongoing performance reviews, which support nurse managers and staff to identify and address issues in a timely manner. The term 'performance management' often has negative connotations, but it can be a powerful tool for staff development and positive learning experiences. This article supports nurse managers to understand how to adequately prepare for and conduct appraisals and performance reviews. • The way in which nurse managers approach performance management, including annual appraisals and reviews, is paramount to the quality of patient care. • Investing time in people is crucial for effective performance management. • Appraisal meetings should be structured around a review of past performance and a discussion of future objectives. • Regular reviews enable nurse managers and staff to identify and address performance issues as they arise. • Open, constructive and respectful discussions can foster a positive work environment where staff feel valued and empowered. Reflective activity 'How to' articles can help to update your practice and ensure it remains evidence-based. Apply this article to your practice. Reflect on and write a short account of: • How this article might improve your practice when conducting annual appraisals and performance reviews. • How you could use this information to educate nursing students or your colleagues on the appropriate techniques and evidence base to conduct annual appraisals and performance reviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why you should read this article: • To familiarise yourself with the concept of moral injury • To understand why nurses may be particularly vulnerable to moral injury • To learn about a practical framework and various interventions that can be used to mitigate the effects of moral injury The concept of moral injury has been around for several decades, yet its effect on nurses remains under-recognised. Moral injury is defined as the biopsychosocial harm that arises from a violation of one's moral code, meaning that a person is powerless to uphold and enact what they believe is morally right. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought the issue of moral injury into focus because many nurses and other healthcare professionals have encountered potentially morally injurious events, resulting in increased pressure and emotional demands. It is essential that nurse leaders recognise moral injury if its effects are to be addressed. This article describes moral injury and its effects on nurses, and offers nurse leaders a practical framework for mitigating this issue. The framework aims to support nurse leaders to increase their understanding of moral injury, address any ethical challenges, ensure they are adequately prepared to provide support to nurses, and enhance their awareness of various interventions that can mitigate moral injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the responsibility of nurse leaders to stop discrimination and support fair treatment in the workplace, according to the Royal College of Nursing. The National Health Service (NHS) Long Term Plan aims is to make organisations show the diversity of the communities they serve. One million British pounds a year has been guaranteed to support work on the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) until 2025. WRES reported a rise in bullying and harassment from 2018 to 2019.

The editor stresses the need to protect the nursing workforce from bullying in the emergency department. She points out the negative effects and destructive dynamics of bullying including feelings of inadequacy, emotional drain, nervousness, disharmony, mistrust, lack of cooperation within the team, and psychological trauma. She encourages emergency nurses who are experiencing bullying or receiving toxic messages to seek support.

Workforce development needs regular review as part of an overall strategy to ensure nurses provide high-quality care for people with cancer. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, calls had been made to address staff shortages in cancer nursing and to develop the workforce in specialist cancer services and roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the introduction of the Support, Time and Recovery (STR) worker into the mental health workforce in Great Britain. A range of interpretations of both role and responsibility has seen STR workers employed in a number of different areas with integrated mental health services and non-statutory organizations in a spectrum of service settings.