Meditation in Healthcare
Introduction
The working environment forms one of the crucial areas that need close attention in all individuals because people spend much time at work than at home. The healthcare environment is one of the technical areas that are busy leading to stress and burnout to the workers. Burnout in employees is common when work becomes stressful and when there is a misunderstanding between employees. Negative events in the working healthcare environments do happen all the time, but coping strategies must be available to relieve stress, anger, and boredom at work. This systematic review aims to show how meditation forms part of the process of relieving stress at work and its role in personal relief from trouble. The paper also explains how a short period of personal space at work is helpful in the reflection of work experiences and a solution to negative work experiences.
Healthcare set up is a busy place with various challenges to nurses and other healthcare personnel. It is acceptable that there is no working area without challenges and the only solution is to find out how the challenges can be managed. This topic is of relevance because of the conflicting nature of healthcare service provision. There are several cases where the doctors and the nurses disagree on various aspects of care leading to exchange of words. Sometimes yelling by the seniors to the employees is observed when things fall apart in service delivery leading to anger and hatred. The doctors are also observed to yell at nurses and other healthcare providers when the unexpected is done to the patient. Such occurrences push for a need for meditation and silence so that the individual can reflect and calm down before resuming work.
Investigation of the Problem
Stress affects millions of workers in the United States leading to decreased productivity in organizations. I work in a healthcare facility in California with a total of 150 employees. During a normal day-shift, each employee handles about 100 to 150 cases and due to the workload, the work is always tedious. An observation made depicts that workers often disagree on various issues leading to misunderstanding. Some issues are so touching that employees find it difficult to continue working. A good example is yelling at other workers by the seniors when things go wrong and according to observation, taking time off is likely to restore the working moods of many employees when such occurrences are observed.
Comprehensive research from literature reveals that meditation is a key aspect of dealing with work-associated healthcare problems. Research from the wellness institute of Cleveland Hospital found that stress at work is effectively minimized through mindfulness techniques and meditation (Khamisa et al., 2016). According to the author, meditation lowers stress levels in a demanding work environment leading to happier and more engaged employees. Research conducted by the same institute examined the impact of meditation and silence moments after bad occurrences in the hospital by nurses. The results were evaluated after one year, and the findings suggest that there was a 28% positive increase in vitality after meditation and a 31% decrease in stress levels in the hospital nurses.
The nursing code of ethics advocates for the safety and health of the patient and it recognizes that stress has a negative outcome on the quality of patient care (Costa and Pinto, 2017). The American Psychological Association (APA) explains the impact of stress in healthcare provision, and it is observed that it leads to depression and about 60-80% of accidents in the workplace are caused by stress (Costa and Pinto, 2017). The major acknowledgment from the APA is that meditation helps healthcare workers to improve quality of work and relieve stress. Research conducted by Michelle and Darshan from the United States health records archives found out that 37-86% of nurses are faced with stressful occasions and burnout while at work (2017).
Contributing Factors
The current situation of healthcare-related stress is high in the United States according to a variety of sources. According to Nowrouzi et al., (2015), almost half of the healthcare workers in the United States experience extreme episodes of stress at work. The American Psychological Association depicts that the main causes of stress at work include heavy workloads, unrealistic job expectations, low salaries and conflicts (Nowrouzi et al., 2015). Stress from patients is another common occurrence mostly on the nursing side. Some patients think that they are special and require specific attention that cannot be provided. There are many incidences where nurses and patients are seen exchanging words, and the outcome is not good at all. Other patients use abusive languages thus making it difficult for healthcare workers to provide quality care.
Eleni and Theodorus (2016) conducted a research to determine the causes and effects of work-related stress in healthcare professionals. From the information gathered, various factors were identified to cause discomfort in the hospital among nurses. Interpersonal relationships can affect work due to conflict and lack of support from colleagues. The nature of the nursing profession poses a threat to the occurrence of stress (Moustaka and Constantinidis, 2016). The long working hours, frequent movements, the encounter with many people and the workload present leads to stress.
Solution
Availability of a quiet environment for meditation is helpful in resolving work-related stress. Stress comes from different encounters as explained and a quite environment does mean a place without not only noise but also a place without people. Some benefits are observed when individuals just sit, breathe and ignore their thoughts even for a few minutes (Eleni and Theodorus, 2016). Studies conducted by Philadelphia-based Science research center suggest that noise increases aggression and leads to psychological problems. Quietness is a gateway to healing, tranquility, and restoration of happy moods.
Based on the results and investigations done, I suggest that a quiet room is set aside in the institution where people can easily take their time off, meditate and relieve stress. Working with a population of 150 employees and performing many tasks eventually leads to burnout. There is a big room that is free in our office, and it is likely to be the perfect place for the implementation of the programme. The room is spacious, silent and free from interruptions making it a perfect place for meditation. From the investigations done, it is evident that meditation takes some time, probably 30 to 45 minutes and implementation of the programme is likely to increase the output of employees. People have different mechanisms of coping with stress including silence, crying and even yelling at other co-workers. The room will form the perfect place to hide the personal experiences during stressful experiences at work.
Resources for Implementation
Implementation of healthcare programmes requires skills and expertise. The first activity to be done in the area is the renovation. The room has not been in use for a long period and it requires cleaning and arrangement. An environment for meditation is supposed to be neat, clean and attractive. Taking an example of external environments, people visit parks and fields where there are fresh air and an attractive nature that washes away stress. The room needs proper ventilation, well-painted walls, and cushions that prevent noise from entering the place. Equipment needed in the room includes tables, comfortable chairs, and free space. Other activities needed for the implementation include permission from the management and daily maintenance.
The cost-benefit of the activity falls largely on individual performance. Individuals who take time to meditate learn to focus on the present and forget their troubles easily. Through meditation, the employees return to work faster and continue performing the daily activities wholeheartedly. Through meditation, the output is increased. Implementation of the programme is likely to benefit those individuals who express their anger and feelings openly. Several people relieve stress through crying, and one of the ways of benefiting such groups is through the creation of a side room for meditation. The organization will benefit from the programme because the increased output from the employees means improved organizational performance. Costs of litigation and problem-solving in the organization will be reduced through implementation of the programme. Based on the proposal, the timeline for implementation of the programme is one month. The time is enough for consultation and renovation of the room. The information will then be communicated to the staff members.
Stakeholders
Implementation of a programme in the healthcare sector requires coordination from different departments (Finkelman, 2015). A hospital is run by different programmes, and any implementation means that all the appropriate sectors have to be involved. The implementation of the meditation programme will involve five major stakeholders. The management team, Registered nurse managers, care coordinators and the UM department will be part of the implementation programme. The management stakeholder team is important in the operation because it permits the usage of the facility. The manager should also be aware of any organizational change activity in the facility. The nurse managers will aid in informing the nursing team on the availability of the facility. The nursing team is the largest in the organization thus it is likely to benefit from the activity. Healthcare coordinators ensure that the facilities in the hospital are maintained and used effectively. The team will also collect regular reports on the applicability of the facility and ensure that the service is not abused.
Summary of engagement with Stakeholders
I took time to visit each of the stakeholders to get information that is relevant to the implementation of the programme. Permission from the management team was granted. The manager was pleased to receive the report, and he said that it would benefit employees. He promised to see the programme work within one month. The nurse managers from different departments were pleased to hear about the activity and promised to inform other nurses immediately everything was ready. The healthcare coordination team had no objection to the proposal. The coordinator said that he would liaise with the management to ensure that funds were allocated for the start of the project. However, the team indicated that much time was needed for the identification and allocation of subordinate staff to take care of the room.
Implementation of the programme will involve working with the key stakeholders to ensure the success of the programme. Working with the management team will be the major focus of the project because it is the one that allocates funds and monitors progress of the programme. Weekly follow-up will be done so that the timeline is maintained. Individual supervision of the project during renovation and furnishing will ensure faster progress of the project. With assistance by the health care coordination team, the project will be hastened.
Implementation and Evaluation
Implementation of the programme will start immediately after renovation and preparation of the room is finished. The preparation of the room is likely to take a maximum of one month together with the installation of the required equipment. Already permission has been granted by the head office, and the other stakeholders have been informed. The second step during the implementation is providing information to the medical team members. The provision of information will be made hand in hand with education on the importance of meditation service in the healthcare personnel. Monitoring of the progress will be done by the departmental managers.
The evaluation of the programme will be done after three months. The period is effective because almost all healthcare workers will have done several shifts in the hospital. The evaluation for success will be measured by the number of staff who uses the room for the speculated purpose. A simple questionnaire on the effectiveness of the service within the organization will respond to all the members of the medical team. Other relevant information on improved performance and reduced stress will be obtained from the team leaders and managers of the employees.
Fulfillment of Roles
A scientist is an individual who is responsible for assessing, designing, undertaking and analyzing information to come up with a controlled result or data about on a certain topic. My role as a scientist in the proposal is manifested through data analysis from major sources to describe the need for a meditation room in the organization.
A detective is an individual who investigates matters in depth to come up with evidence of a certain occurrence. I managed to do an investigation on the causes of stress and burnout in the healthcare system and found out several causes as stated in the investigation section. Convincing the management and the healthcare workers on the need for meditation was not easy. It required a detailed investigation of the effectiveness of the system and how it will benefit the organization.
A manager is a person who oversees the performance of the employees at work and promotes a positive working environment for the workers. I have managed to control the events leading to the implementation of the programme in the institution. Identification of the room to be used and allocation of time for the implementation and evaluation needed managerial skills. Organization of visits to the stakeholder and application of the convincing power of an agreement to the project shows how I used managerial skills.
Conclusion
The working environment in healthcare is stressing and the presence of a room where employees could take time off to refresh their minds will be helpful. The use of meditation is found to be effective in reducing stress, minimizing commotion in the workplace and improving employee performance. The proposal explains how the meditation room will be an effective place to the medical team members in the organization to relieve stress and free their mind during bad occurrences at work.
References
Costa, B. R. C., & Pinto, I. C. J. F. (2017). Stress, Burnout and Coping in Health Professionals: A Literature Review. J Psychol Brain Stud, 1(1). Retrieved from
Finkelman, A. (2015). Leadership and management for nurses: Core competencies for quality care.
Pearson.Khamisa, N., Peltzer, K., Ilic, D., & Oldenburg, B. (2016). Work related stress, burnout, job satisfaction and general health of nurses: A follow‐up study. International journal of nursing practice, 22(6), 538-545. Retrieved from
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijn.12455/full
Moustaka, Å., & Constantinidis, T. C. (2016). Sources and effects of Work-related stress in nursing. Health Science Journal, 4(4). Retrieved from
http://www.hsj.gr/medicine/sources-and-effects-of-workrelated-stress-in-nursing.php?aid=3575
Nowrouzi, B., Lightfoot, N., Larivière, M., Carter, L., Rukholm, E., Schinke, R., & Belanger-Gardner, D. (2015). Occupational stress management and burnout interventions in nursing and their implications for healthy work environments: a literature review. Workplace health & safety, 63(7), 308-315.
