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Active Breaks Initiative During Hospital Rounds in the Surgical ICU to Improve Wellness of Healthcare Providers: An Observational Descriptive Study

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Abstract

Background

Healthcare professionals in the intensive care unit (ICU) confront stressful working conditions. Morning rounds involve several hours of prolonged standing and uninterrupted concentration each day and require both mental and physical endurance from the entire care team. There is concern that work-related fatigue among ICU practitioners will compromise their ability to safely and effectively care for their patients. To address this concern, the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) at Long Island Jewish Medical Center implemented an initiative to promote provider wellness through “active breaks” during rounds.

Materials and methods

Between October and December 2019, 30 physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and students collectively engaged in active breaks during SICU rounds and then completed a 7-question, post-test survey to assess their experience. The survey consisted of both closed-end and open-ended questions. The data were then analyzed using simple statistics.

Results

In response to closed-ended questioning, the majority of participants agreed that active breaks relieved stress (27/30; 90%), promoted wellness (29/30; 96.7%), and improved team morale (29/30; 93.1%). When given the options of tricep dips, squats or push-ups, squats were the favored activity during breaks (17/30; 56.7%). Most of the participants (27/30; 90%) considered the active breaks to be appropriate for the working environment; two participants had no opinion on this matter. Approximately 90% of the respondents were interested in maintaining active breaks as part of the routine of morning rounds.

Conclusions

Our assessment suggests active breaks during rounds are a healthy outlet to address the inherent stress associated with critical care. This initiative also potentially protects healthcare providers from burnout and, consequentially, improves the quality of patient care.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the LIJMC SICU staff for participating in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Surgical Critical Care, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, 270-05 76th Ave, Queens, NY, 11040, USA

    Maria Armas, Danielle Aronowitz, Richard Gaona, Gene Coppa & Rafael Barrera

Authors
  1. Maria Armas
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  2. Danielle Aronowitz
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  3. Richard Gaona
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  4. Gene Coppa
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  5. Rafael Barrera
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Correspondence to Danielle Aronowitz.

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Armas, M., Aronowitz, D., Gaona, R. et al. Active Breaks Initiative During Hospital Rounds in the Surgical ICU to Improve Wellness of Healthcare Providers: An Observational Descriptive Study. World J Surg 45, 1026–1030 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-020-05910-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-020-05910-7

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