Adaptation of Post-Crisis Team Debriefing in an Inpatient Psychiatric Hospital

Abstract

Working in psychiatric nursing can be stressful. The nursing employees’ stress level has been heightened in a southwestern psychiatric hospital due to patient violence and organizational changes and demands. To reduce employee’s stress and prevent burnout, ultimately improving the quality of patient care, this doctor of nursing practice (DNP) quality improvement project incorporated the use of aromatherapy with lavender oil and a moment (60 seconds) of self-reflection into the current crisis team debriefing process in a two-week period. The frontline registered nurses and mental health technicians in inpatient units and psychiatric emergency services department were invited to participate in this project. Forty-six survey forms were collected in 10 team calls for crisis debriefing. Using paired t-test and chi-square test statistics in SPSS and line graph in Excel function, the participants’ mean stress level was found significantly reduced at a p-value of 0.000 by the interventions implemented. Between two components of the interventions, participants were more in favor of aromatherapy with lavender oil. Participants also wanted individual debriefing incorporated to further sustain their mental health. Some limitations were observed in this project. Future projects on the exact amount of lavender oil applied, with an improved project design, and the incorporation of individual debriefing are suggested.