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Overview
The challenge
New technologies, responsibilities, and care protocols can make nurses feel like they’re working alone, even though they are surrounded by people during their shifts. Changes in care delivery processes have led to more isolated work streams. And as facility design strategies evolve, more hospitals are building single-occupancy patient rooms. As a result, nurses report feeling more isolated than part of a team.
The organization
The American Nurses Association (ANA) is a professional organization that advances the interests of the 4 million registered nurses in the United States.
The approach
The ANA introduced 90-second storytelling as a standing agenda item to begin every meeting. Each story is real and personal—it recounts an actual event the employee encountered. The purpose was to encourage attendees to acknowledge and reconnect with their purpose as health care professionals.
The result
Health care providers in a variety of positions and settings report that storytelling boosts resilience, empathy, compassion, and overall well-being.
The two components
These are the two components the ANA used to introduce storytelling to improve employee well-being:
The first component of this practice is to begin every meeting or huddle with a brief, personal story. ANA leaders recommend the process shown below.
Sample core values referenced during 90-second storytelling at the ANA are shown below. You may decide to use your specific organization’s values instead.
Sample core values
- Integrity
- Joy of practice
- Empathy and caregiving
- Clinical excellence
Sample 90-second, high-impact story topics
- Achieving a practice-specific goal
- Lending a helping hand in a time of need
- Persevering through a critical incident
- A patient’s positive recovery
The second component is to provide clear guidance to ensure storytelling takes no more than two minutes.
ANA leaders shared tips on how to keep stories brief. First, follow a structured format, like the process described on the previous page. Second, select a volunteer to share a story prior to the meeting. Third, offer coaching to ensure the storyteller highlights the important points.
Storytelling has had a positive impact on health care providers in a variety of roles and settings. While it’s difficult to quantify the impact of any single effort to improve employee well-being, this practice has been shown to boost resilience, reconnect staff to purpose, and minimize burnout.
Strong impact on personal development
Medical students who were taught using narrative medicine (employing storytelling techniques) reported:
- Improved communication skills
- Enhanced capacity to collaborate, empathize, and be patient-centered
- Personal and professional development through reflection
Strong impact on well-being
Health care providers can experience strong benefits from engaging in reflective storytelling, including but not limited to:
- Increased resilience and ability to take joy in their daily work
- An increased sense of community and an ability to draw on supportive networks and positive emotions
- Reduced feelings of burnout and an increased desire for positive change in the workplace
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