Year of the Nurse: Improving the nursing experience beyond COVID-19

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Dan Wadsworth, Transformation Manager at TeleTracking International and co-founder of the social movement 15s30m, discusses what can be done to improve the day to day nursing experience beyond COVID-19

Who could have imagined the unprecedented demand nursing staff would be under when 2020, Florence Nightingale’s bicentennial year, was designated the first-ever Year of the Nurse and the Midwife by the World Health Organisation? Celebrating nurses, clinicians and carers is, of course, hugely important for morale given the levels of burn-out, stress and risk our frontline staff are facing, but recognition is just the start. Thinking beyond COVID-19, what can be done to improve the day to day nursing experience?

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) believes a big part of the solution is to focus on restoring joy to the healthcare workforce. But this is not just about big strategic changes; as the success of the 15s30m social movement (@15s30m on twitter) is showing, an individual making one small change can transform the day to day experience of one or more colleagues and patients, reducing frustration and improving joy. As Dan Wadsworth, Transformation Manager at TeleTracking International explains, small changes can have very significant results, not least in enabling far more time to care.

Staff burn-out

Florence Nightingale’s heroic efforts on the battlefields of the Crimean War seem particularly poignant during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yes, the last two centuries have seen medical and technological advances that have had a transformative impact on our ability to care, but time to care is arguably more compromised today than ever by hugely frustrating administrative distractions. In celebrating the Year of the Nurse, it is time to refocus energies on enabling nurses to concentrate on delivering patient care. And this means reducing unnecessary, extraneous and often stressful activities.

This shift is essential if health services around the world are to address the damage caused by staff burn-out.  Long before COVID-19, 50% more staff in the NHS were already reporting debilitating levels of work stress compared with the general working population, stress that affects both their well-being and patient outcomes.

According to the Kings Fund, the primary cause of that stress is excessive chronic workload; it is also the number one reason for clinicians to say they will quit.  So what can be done to address this situation and, from a nursing perspective, release essential hours back to delivering patient care?

Small, positive, immediate improvements

The IHI’s focus on joy in work has inspired a number of NHS-wide and Trust-wide initiatives; but this is not just about large, strategic change. Rather, it’s about recognising the power that small, local actions can have to deliver hugely significant results. One of the most important aspects of reducing frustration and achieving joy in work is enabling people to take control and make small, positive, immediate improvements that affect both their working lives and those of their colleagues.

Anyone on the front line of NHS services – from nurses to junior doctors, porters, healthcare assistants, cleaners and receptionists – is well placed to make such changes. They know the job inside out and understand day to day frustrations. They are in the position to step outside regimented processes and enable an immediate, if small, change that feels empowering and delivers real benefits to others.

This latter point is key, as research into clinical burnout suggests firstly, that is important to focus on just one or two things in a day that can be impactful for other people and, secondly, the importance of connection, belonging and support. Undertaking local activities that can support colleagues and helps to create a team is proven to lower stress levels, so critical in the current circumstances.