Debriefing Group??? Help with start-up

[mrsbrightside]

Hi everyone,

So I am a hospice nurse in Illinois and I love my job. I find such joy doing it everyday but recently I transferred to our inpatient unit and although I still love my job the patients' acuity and death ratio have changed. I was in the field and I would see my patients decline some faster than others but generally I would see them at their "good days" as well as the bad. Since going to the inpatient unit, it is not uncommon for me to be present for 10 deaths a week--if not more. Our patients at the unit come with one-foot in the ground and the high anxiety level of the families mixed with the overload of death and no time to grieve is taking its toll on my staff and myself. So I came up with the idea of having a debriefing group. Our company has an IDG/IDT meeting weekly in which we have maybe 10 minutes to touch base on our patients who have expired but I want to provide my staff with something more than that. Something that focuses on their feelings (positive and negative) and can really help make our team stronger. Any suggestions?

[netglow, ASN, RN]

You know what, sometimes I might want to talk about things, but not in an organized group fashion ...more like only when the mood hits me. Would be great if you had some awesome person (s) a Major Sydney Freedman. Just for a casual one on one if someone needed.

What about getting someone in marketing to get some massage certificates for the staff. Something physical, even a hot bath and candles would do more for me than talking in a group.

I guess overall, I don't see anything that would be closely associated with the workplace to be a means of relieving stress. I'd need help in leaving it behind.