This article describes the rationale, implementation and results of a pilot study evaluating the personal and organizational impact of an educational intervention on the stress of health team members. The compelling imperative for the project was to find a positive and effective way to address the documented stress levels of healthcare workers. Pilot study of oncology staff (n=29) and healthcare leaders (n=15) exploring the impact of a positive coping approach on Personal and Organizational Quality Assessment-Revised (POQA-R) scores at baseline and 7 months using paired t-tests. Personal and organizational indicators of stress decreased in the expected directions in both groups over the time intervals. The majority of POQA-R categories were statistically significantly improved in the oncology staff, and many of the categories were statistically significantly improved in the leadership group. The findings from this project demonstrate that stress and its symptoms are problematic issues for hospital and ambulatory clinic staff as evidenced by baseline measures of distress. Further, a workplace intervention was feasible and effective in promoting positive strategies for coping and enhancing well-being, personally and organizationally.

Abstracts 11 scientific abstracts on health and organizational outcomes in healthcare ABSTRACTS

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The key role of healthcare leaders is to create and sustain an environment that optimizes high-quality, safe, and effective patient-centered care. The leader's role is to ensure the best possible physical environment and provide a culture that supports healthcare team members in the stressful work of providing direct care. A positive approach is to empower nurses and other health team members with effective skills and techniques to help them transform stressful situations into more therapeutic scenarios.