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Workplace culture is one of the biggest factors driving employee commitment and engagement. Multiple studies have shown that hospitals will perform better over time if employees are committed to their jobs and engaged in what they do. By creating and implementing multiple projects during a three-year period, a team at the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital, Gainesville, increased job satisfaction. Projects included ensuring meal breaks were offered, creating a serenity area, developing the patient ambassador role, actively addressing bullying and unprofessional behavior, assigning a student mentee to work with staff members on culture change, offering regular fun activities, redesigning the unit, reorganizing schedules to reduce stress, implementing education and training initiatives, establishing a Unit Practice Council, and implementing reward and recognition programs. Survey results and anecdotal evidence suggest that these projects combined to increase employee satisfaction and employee retention rates.

Rising health care costs and an aging workforce have led many companies to actively promote wellness in the workplace to help their employees and lower their health care-related costs. A quality improvement initiative examined the health status of perioperative personnel in one facility before and after they took part in an onsite fitness program.

Incorporating virtual human (VH) technology into simulation programs for perioperative education and training can improve interdisciplinary teamwork and communication. The development of VHs allowed interdisciplinary teams at the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital to overcome obstacles during training, such as communication gaps. A multidisciplinary team that included perioperative leaders and quality specialists developed three scenarios for interdisciplinary training to provide participants with the opportunity to practice their communication skills and improve patient safety. Using validated tools to promote standardized communication, participants had to address patient safety concerns assertively during the simulations. After each simulation session, quality specialists conducted a debriefing, collected data via surveys, and identified areas for improvement. As a result of the VH simulation sessions, perioperative staff members reported increased confidence and competence when providing patient care. Using VHs to enhance education is an innovative strategy that is useful for both novice and experienced perioperative nurses.

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