CSI Summary
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CSI Project
Methodist Hospital (San Antonio, Texas)
CSI Summary
Available only to registered AACN.org users.
CSI Presentation
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CSI Toolkit
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Project Topic:
Decreasing burnout and nurse turnover
Hospital Unit:
Med/Surg Medicine 1
CSI Participants:
Project Goals/Objectives:
Project Outcomes:
Project Overview:
In 2021, the turnover rate for our Medicine 1 unit was 22%. Our CSI team chose this challenge for our innovation project to increase morale and retention in the unit. We developed our strategy and held a kickoff with staff in month three of our project.
Our team decided to conduct AACN's Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool survey (HWEAT) as a baseline measure. Then we introduced monthly events to bring staff members together and allow them to get to know each other. We hoped that by forming a "family bond" and encouraging each other to work as a team, staff would feel comfortable and safe enough to approach one another, not only in a hospital/nursing setting but in their everyday life as well. To increase participation, we surveyed staff about the types of events they would like and those who attended were eligible to win a raffle prize.
Our CSI team also encouraged and supported staff in furthering their education and/or becoming certified as another way to be recognized and rewarded. We urged Medicine 1 nurses to apply for the Med/Surg Certification Exam and to consider registering for a Med/Surg certification review session to help them prepare. We also implemented multiple recognition boards.
Toward the end of our project, we resurveyed staff using HWEAT. Survey results indicated that our HWEAT score increased to 3.63 and other data showed our turnover decreased as well.
Feedback about the project has been positive. Staff members have asked when there would be another event and have suggested ideas for future events. Positive feedback has also been acknowledged by nurses outside of the Medicine 1 core staff. Nurses from other units have signed up to work shifts on Medicine 1 and travel/agency nurses working in our unit have renewed their contracts multiple times. In addition, a number of resource float nurses shared that our unit culture is described as, "They are like a family here. They are always willing to help one another."
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The materials associated with this AACN Clinical Scene Investigator (CSI) Academy project are the property of the participating hospital noted above, not AACN. Requests to use content contained in the CSI team’s summary, presentation or toolkit should be directed to the hospital. We suggest reaching out to the hospital’s Communications, Marketing or Nursing Education department for assistance.
Disclaimer
The AACN CSI Academy program supports change projects based on quality improvement methods. Although CSI teams seek to ensure linkage between their project and clinical/fiscal outcomes, data cannot be solely attributed to the project and are estimations of impact.