Other Titles
PechaKucha Presentation
Abstract
Background: Bedside registered nurses (BRNs) in the hospital setting care for patients who may unexpectedly deteriorate. When nurses witness patient deterioration, it is helpful for them to engage in meaning-making and contextualization to facilitate compassion satisfaction, mitigate secondary traumatic stress, and improve job satisfaction (Kopacz et al., 2019; Sattler & Smith, 2020). When a rapid response team (RRT) intervention is called and the patient warrants transfer to intensive care (ICU), BRNs rarely receive formal follow-up regarding the outcomes of their patients. Lack of feedback regarding critical situations may contribute to secondary traumatic stress, moral distress, decreased job satisfaction among BRNs, and consequent poorer patient outcomes. Evidence from previous studies suggests that follow-up summaries may help alleviate secondary traumatic stress among emergency services professionals, however implementation of a similar concept is rare among inpatient BRNs (Ames et al., 2017; Iserson, 2020; Wilson et al., 2023). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a pilot program to provide patient follow-up summaries to BRNs when a patient under their care requires RRT intervention with transfer to ICU.
Methods: Six inpatient units in one urban Midwest United States tertiary academic medical center were selected for the pilot study. Using a pre-post design we will assess psychosocial measures including burnout, compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, moral distress, and perceptions of a healthy work environment via self-administered survey before and after a 12-week intervention period. Survey instruments and focus group data will be used to evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and perceived impact. Cohen’s D will be calculated to estimate the effect size of receiving patient follow-up summaries on psychosocial measures. Free-text survey responses and focus group data will be analyzed for themes using content analysis.
Results: Data collection is ongoing. The final results are anticipated in February 2026.
Conclusion: Providing a structured patient follow-up summary to the BRNs has the potential to reduce secondary traumatic stress and moral distress, enhance compassion satisfaction, and foster a healthier work environment.
Notes
Additional references included in attached slide deck.
References:
Ames, M., Salmond, E., Holly, C., & Kamienski, M. (2017). Strategies that reduce compassion fatigue and increase compassion satisfaction in nurses: A systematic review protocol. JBI Database of System Reviews and Implementation Reports, 15(7), 1800-1804. https://doi.org/10.11124/jbisrir-2016-003142
Iserson, K.V. (2020). Empowering clinician education with patient-outcome feedback. AEM Education and Training, 4(4), 395-402. https://doi.org/10.1002/aet2.10489
Kopacz, M.S., Lockman, J., Lusk, J., Bryan, C., Park, C., Sheu, S., & Gibson, W. (2019). How meaningful is meaning-making? New Ideas in Psychology, 54, 76-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2019.02.001
Sattler, D. & Smith, A. (2020). Facilitating posttraumatic growth in the wake of natural disasters: Considerations for crisis response. In S. Schulenberg (Ed.), Positive psychological approaches to disaster: Meaning, resilience, and posttraumatic growth. Springer Nature.
Wilson, C., Janes, G., Lawton, R., & Benn, J. (2023). Feedback for emergency ambulance staff: A national review of current practice informed by realist evaluation methodology. Healthcare, 11(16). https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11162229
Sigma Membership
Non-member
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Pilot/Exploratory Study
Keywords:
Workforce, Implementation Science, Acute Care, Rapid Response (Emergency Care), Nursing Staff, Hospital Nursing Staff, Registered Nurses, Well-Being, Psychological Well-Being
Recommended Citation
Brown, Quean; Phillips, Cristin; Liddell, Molly; Thompson, Katherine; Fuad Hatem Abu Zahra, Tala; and Christianson, Jacqueline, "Patient Follow-Ups for Hospital Nurses: Addressing Nurse Well-Being After Rapid Response Events" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 58.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2026/presentations_2026/58
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2026
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. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-04-29
Funder
American Association of Retired People; American Association of Critical Care Nurses
Patient Follow-Ups for Hospital Nurses: Addressing Nurse Well-Being After Rapid Response Events
Washington, DC, USA
Background: Bedside registered nurses (BRNs) in the hospital setting care for patients who may unexpectedly deteriorate. When nurses witness patient deterioration, it is helpful for them to engage in meaning-making and contextualization to facilitate compassion satisfaction, mitigate secondary traumatic stress, and improve job satisfaction (Kopacz et al., 2019; Sattler & Smith, 2020). When a rapid response team (RRT) intervention is called and the patient warrants transfer to intensive care (ICU), BRNs rarely receive formal follow-up regarding the outcomes of their patients. Lack of feedback regarding critical situations may contribute to secondary traumatic stress, moral distress, decreased job satisfaction among BRNs, and consequent poorer patient outcomes. Evidence from previous studies suggests that follow-up summaries may help alleviate secondary traumatic stress among emergency services professionals, however implementation of a similar concept is rare among inpatient BRNs (Ames et al., 2017; Iserson, 2020; Wilson et al., 2023). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a pilot program to provide patient follow-up summaries to BRNs when a patient under their care requires RRT intervention with transfer to ICU.
Methods: Six inpatient units in one urban Midwest United States tertiary academic medical center were selected for the pilot study. Using a pre-post design we will assess psychosocial measures including burnout, compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, moral distress, and perceptions of a healthy work environment via self-administered survey before and after a 12-week intervention period. Survey instruments and focus group data will be used to evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and perceived impact. Cohen’s D will be calculated to estimate the effect size of receiving patient follow-up summaries on psychosocial measures. Free-text survey responses and focus group data will be analyzed for themes using content analysis.
Results: Data collection is ongoing. The final results are anticipated in February 2026.
Conclusion: Providing a structured patient follow-up summary to the BRNs has the potential to reduce secondary traumatic stress and moral distress, enhance compassion satisfaction, and foster a healthier work environment.
Description
Lack of feedback regarding critical situations may contribute to secondary traumatic stress, moral distress, decreased job satisfaction among BRNs, and consequent poorer patient outcomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a pilot program to provide patient follow-up summaries to BRNs when a patient under their care requires RRT intervention with transfer to ICU.