Background: Emergency Room (ER) nurses are challenged both physically and emotionally, and are repeatedly exposed to severe occupational stress (d'Ettorre & Greco, 2016; Duffy et al., 2015). For example, some stressors are demands from patients and physicians, long hours, complex diagnoses, and a fast pace (Hunsaker et al., 2015). A considerable number of nurses experience work-related interpersonal conflict, secondary traumatic stress, and other stress disorders, which negatively affects the quality of patient care they deliver (Westphal et al., 2015). Purpose: The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was to implement a mindfulness meditation intervention to decrease emergency room nurses’ stress. Theoretical Framework: Watson’s theory of human caring (J. Watson, 2008) was utilized as the theoretical framework for this project, focusing on the nurse’s self-care regarding stress. Methods: This project used a pre-test post-test design to evaluate the effect of an evidence-based mindfulness meditation intervention by obtaining blood pressure and pulse measures as well as the Profile of Mood States Second Edition-Short Form (POMS2-SF) questionnaire. Results: Using mindfulness meditation participants experienced a statistically significant lowering in stress levels: the mean post-POMS (M = 39.4) was statistically significantly lower (p
| Date of Award | Jan 1 2020 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Marcia J Derby-Davis (Supervisor), Kelly Henson-Evertz (Advisor) & Linda Evans (Advisor) |
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