1. Purpose Improvement Tools/Methods Limitations / Lessons Learned Results Process Improvement Aromatherapy and Workplace Stress Michelle Bittenbender and Caitlin Darby, Student Nurses  To foster a healthy work-place environment for the nursing staff at Florida Hospital Tampa by reducing stress and increasing energy and productivity by allowing nurses to draw upon the benefits of aromatherapy in their work environment, resulting in improved patient care, safety, and outcomes; thus increasing employee satisfaction and staff retention.  Nursing comes with inherent stress. In stressful environments the risk of mistakes are common, which jeopardizes patient care, outcomes, and safety (Milliken, Clements, & Tillman, 2007).  The quality of patient care and employee well-being is directly correlated to the stress level of the nursing staff.  Research by Milliken, Clements, and Tillman (2007) has shown that employee stress and burnout leads to significant organizational consequences including:  Physical and emotional stress  Heart disease, hypertension, stress ulcers  Anxiety, depression, insomnia, migraines  Abuse of drugs and alcohol and cigarette smoking  Low job satisfaction  Research by Milliken, Clements, and Tillman (2007) has also revealed that the conditions listed above influenced nurses’ abilities to accomplish tasks due to poor decision making, lack of concentration, decreased motivation, apathy and anxiety, and absenteeism, thus compromising patient safety and increasing staff turnover rates.  According to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, each nurse-turnover costs their organization $62,000-67,000 thus every 15 vacant nurse positions results in $1 million in additional healthcare costs per year (Millken, Clements, & Tillman, 2007).  The use of easily accessible, non-pharmaceutical interventions such as aromatherapy and essential oils has proven successful in coping with work-related stress and burnout thus building a healthier workforce while decreasing the costs associated with unsafe patient care, undesirable outcomes and nurse-turnover (Chen, Fang, & Fang, 2013).  Nursing staff will be educated on the use, history, and benefits of essential oils prior to the implementation of the proposed intervention.  Staff will be surveyed 30 days prior to implementing the intervention of diffusing essential oils to determine the baseline stress analysis of employees as well as job satisfaction.  Essential oils will be diffused at the nurses station for a period of 30 days as a trial (Milliken, Clements & Tillman, 2007).  A follow up survey will be conducted 30 days after to determine if the intervention was effective in reducing workplace stress and improved job satisfaction.  Analyze results of intervention  If the results of the intervention show decreased stress levels and improved job satisfaction as the published studies reveal, the diffuser will remain at the nurses station indefinitely.  Lack of education and understanding of the proposed intervention  Resistance to change  Inability to comprehend magnitude of problem  Time constraint to complete the pre/post intervention survey  Change in nursing staff (new hires/float nurses) during the 30 day trial Florida Hospital Tampa- Cardiac Care Unit and Pepin Progressive Care Unit  Plan-Do-Study-Act improvement method  Process flow charting  Cause and effect analysis (fishbone diagram) References 1. Chen, M., Feng, S., & Feng, L., (2013). The effects of aromatherapy in relieving symptoms related to job stress among nurses. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 33(4), 214-237. doi: 10.1111/ijn.12229 2. Pemberton, E., & Turpin, P., (2008). The effect of essential oils on work-related stress in intensive care unit nurses. Holistic Nursing Practice. 22(2), 97-102. doi: 10.1097/01.HNP.0000312658.13890.28 3. Milliken, T., Clements, P., & Tillman., (2007). The impact of stress management on nurse productivity and retention. Nursing Economics, 25(4), 203-210. Retrieved from: ww.medscape.com/viewarticle/562717_3 Background Team Members  Patient Care Tech  Floor Nurses  Charge Nurse  Nurse Managers  Nurse Leaders  Nurse Educators  Chief Nurse Officer (CNO)  Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Measures  Educating the nursing staff on the history of essential oils and the benefits of use in other hospitals, will be beneficial in improving compliance and understanding of the proposed intervention.  Surveying the nursing staff prior to and upon completion of the proposed intervention of diffusing essential oils to reduce stress and improve job satisfaction is necessary to evaluate its efficacy. Education Intial Survey Implement Intervention Follow-up Survey Result Analysis Adopt practice