• Lara Traeger, Elyse R Park, Nora Sporn, Jennifer Repper-DeLisi, Mary Susan Convery, Michelle Jacobo, and William F Pirl.
• Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, USA. ltraeger@partners.org
• Oncol Nurs Forum. 2013 Jul 1;40(4):E327-36.

Purpose/ObjectivesTo reduce workplace stress by developing a brief psychological skills training for nurses and to evaluate program feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy in decreasing burnout and stress.DesignIntervention development and evaluation.SettingOutpatient chemotherapy unit at a comprehensive cancer center.Sample26 infusion nurses and oncology social workers.MethodsFocus groups were conducted with nurses. Results informed the development and evaluation of training for nurses. Participants completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory and Perceived Stress Scale post-training.Main Research VariablesBurnout and stress.FindingsFocus groups indicated strong commitment among nurses to psychosocial care and supported the idea that relationships with patients and families were sources of reward and stress. Stressors included factors that interfered with psychosocial care such as difficult family dynamics, patient behaviors and end-of-life care issues. Psychological skills training was developed to address these stressors. Evaluations suggested that the program was feasible and acceptable to nurses. At two months, participants showed reductions in emotional exhaustion (p = 0.02) and stress (p = 0.04).ConclusionsPsychological skills training for managing difficult encounters showed feasibility, acceptability, and potential benefit in reducing emotional exhaustion and stress.Implications For NursingBrief training that targets sources of clinical stress may be useful for nurses in outpatient chemotherapy units.Knowledge TranslationSpecific stressors in relationships with patients and families present challenges to nurses' therapeutic use of self. Targeted psychological skills training may help nurses problem-solve difficult encounters while taking care of themselves. System-level strategies are needed to support and promote training participation.

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