Other Titles
PechaKucha Presentation
Abstract
Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) teams care for some of the hospital’s most fragile and sick patients. Larger NICUs frequently care for more acute patients, increasing the risk of burnout among team members.1,2 These NICUs often see a larger volume of patients, presenting challenges to teaming and collaborating effectively as team sizes increase to meet patient care demands.1,2 The AACN Healthy Work Environment (HWE) assessment tool was deployed to nurses in an upstate NY level IV NICU. The lowest-scoring areas were true collaboration, skilled communication, and meaningful recognition. Based on HWE data, the ACE-15 Teamwork and Collaboration survey was distributed to capture the interdisciplinary team’s perceptions of the workplace, and a unit work environment improvement initiative was formed. The unit wellness committee shifted from a nursing-only group to an interdisciplinary committee as part of the unit HWE initiative. The purpose of moving from a nursing-only to an interdisciplinary wellness team was to understand the impact an interdisciplinary team may have on team members feeling valued and respected. This innovative team utilizes evidence-based interventions such as mindfulness techniques, gratitude boards, gratitude rounds, well-being education, and well-being programs, all focusing on fostering resilience, positive teamwork, and collaboration within the workplace.1,2,3,4,5,6 Currently, interventions addressing low-scoring HWE standards are developed and implemented by interdisciplinary HWE workgroups (including the unit wellness team), which contribute toward increasing the percentage of staff who feel valued and respected in the NICU. The unit is reassessed every six months using a shortened version of the ACE-15 survey to gauge progress, and participation in interventions led by the wellness team is tracked.
Notes
References: 1. Aryankhesal, A., Mohammadibakhsh, R., Hamidi, Y., Alidoost, S., Behzadifar, M., Sohrabi, R., & Farhadi, Z. (2019). Interventions on reducing burnout in physicians and nurses: A systematic review. Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 33, 77. https://doi.org/10.34171/mjiri.33.77
2. Bresesti, I., Folgori, L., & De Bartolo, P. (2020). Interventions to reduce occupational stress and burn out within neonatal intensive care units: a systematic review. Occupational and environmental medicine, 77(8), 515–519. https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2019-106256
3. Buljac-Samardzic, M., Doekhie, K. D., & van Wijngaarden, J. D. H. (2020). Interventions to improve team effectiveness within health care: a systematic review of the past decade. Human resources for health, 18(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-019-0411-3
4. D'Urso, A., O'Curry, S., Mitchell, L., Casey, S., D'Amore, A., King, M., & Broster, S. (2019). Staff matter too: pilot staff support intervention to reduce stress and burnout on a neonatal intensive care unit. Archives of disease in childhood. Fetal and neonatal edition, 104(3), F341. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2018-316217
5. Sherwood, G., Koshy Cherian, U., Horton-Deutsch, S., Kitzmiller, R., & Smith-Miller, C. (2018). Reflective practices: meaningful recognition for healthy work environments. Nursing management (Harrow, London, England: 1994), 24(10), 30–34. https://doi.org/10.7748/nm.2018.e1684
6. Williams, K. M., Campbell, C. M., House, S., Hodson, P., Swiger, P. A., Orina, J., Javed, M., Pierce, T., & Patrician, P. A. (2024). Healthy work environment: A systematic review informing a nursing professional practice model in the US Military Health System. Journal of advanced nursing, 80(9), 3565–3576. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.16141
Sigma Membership
Epsilon Xi
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
N/A
Research Approach
N/A
Keywords:
Interprofessional, Interdisciplinary, Interprofessional Initiatives, Workforce
Recommended Citation
San Filipo, Christina Rose, "From Intra to Interdisciplinary: Growing an Inclusive NICU Wellness Team" (2025). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 48.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2025/presentations_2025/48
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
From Intra to Interdisciplinary: Growing an Inclusive NICU Wellness Team
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) teams care for some of the hospital’s most fragile and sick patients. Larger NICUs frequently care for more acute patients, increasing the risk of burnout among team members.1,2 These NICUs often see a larger volume of patients, presenting challenges to teaming and collaborating effectively as team sizes increase to meet patient care demands.1,2 The AACN Healthy Work Environment (HWE) assessment tool was deployed to nurses in an upstate NY level IV NICU. The lowest-scoring areas were true collaboration, skilled communication, and meaningful recognition. Based on HWE data, the ACE-15 Teamwork and Collaboration survey was distributed to capture the interdisciplinary team’s perceptions of the workplace, and a unit work environment improvement initiative was formed. The unit wellness committee shifted from a nursing-only group to an interdisciplinary committee as part of the unit HWE initiative. The purpose of moving from a nursing-only to an interdisciplinary wellness team was to understand the impact an interdisciplinary team may have on team members feeling valued and respected. This innovative team utilizes evidence-based interventions such as mindfulness techniques, gratitude boards, gratitude rounds, well-being education, and well-being programs, all focusing on fostering resilience, positive teamwork, and collaboration within the workplace.1,2,3,4,5,6 Currently, interventions addressing low-scoring HWE standards are developed and implemented by interdisciplinary HWE workgroups (including the unit wellness team), which contribute toward increasing the percentage of staff who feel valued and respected in the NICU. The unit is reassessed every six months using a shortened version of the ACE-15 survey to gauge progress, and participation in interventions led by the wellness team is tracked.
Description
NICU team members are at high risk of burnout. An interdisciplinary wellness team may help team members feel valued and respected.