ANA Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation® Spotlight: Tammy Aiken, DNP, RN, SANE
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One nurse shows how gratitude can be a game-changer
Anything worth doing takes practice, and gratitude is no exception. #healthynurse Tammy Aiken, DNP, RN, SANE, learned that for herself 12 years ago when the community rallied around her family during a difficult time. The gratitude she experienced in that moment changed her forever.
“The way I felt was staggering and humbling,” Dr. Aiken says. “But it was also energizing. I knew then and there that I wanted to always feel like this.”
She began implementing small gratitude practices daily — emailing someone to thank them or verbally expressing gratitude to several people each day. Eight years later, when Dr. Aiken needed to come up with a doctoral project, her thoughts went to gratitude.
“I reflected on all the times during my 40 years as an ED nurse that I’ve personally relied on gratitude to get me through,” Dr. Aiken says. “Emergency nursing can be tough because of the things we see and deal with. How do we keep ourselves together? For me, it was gratitude.”
Focusing on Nurse Leaders and Gratitude
Dr. Aiken completed her doctoral project just after the COVID-19 pandemic. She recognized that the frontline nurses weren’t the only ones struggling during COVID.
“There was a spotlight on burnout and the frontline, and rightfully so,” Dr. Aiken says. “But I was intrigued by the burnout of nursing leaders. They led their people through a firestorm, and when they came out on the other side, it didn’t seem to get much better.”
She decided to study nurse leaders and how gratitude impacts their job satisfaction. More than 100 nurse leaders completed 2 questionnaires: one about job satisfaction and one about gratitude in their personal life.
“The study showed a moderate correlation between gratitude and job satisfaction,” Dr. Aiken says. “The participant pool was not as diverse as I would’ve liked, but I think it serves as a starting point.”
The study showed Dr. Aiken that gratitude could play a role in improving nurse retention. “If you look at history, gratitude has been around since the beginning of time — seen in cave paintings and the Bible,” she says. “It just keeps making its presence known, which is truly a testament to its power.”
Sharing Personal Gratitude to Guide Professional Practice
Dr. Aiken created a presentation highlighting her study’s findings and her personal gratitude practice. She submitted it to the Nursing World Conference, and they asked her to present it. Afterward, Dr. Aiken began to hear from health care professionals across the globe in support of her work. She’s presented on the topic at several events since then, including the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma) “Creating Healthy Work Environments” conference.
“I thought this was a one-and-done,” Dr. Aiken says. “But I’m still asked to talk about this topic more than a year later. That tells me there’s a need for it.”
In her personal life, Dr. Aiken continues to show gratitude to at least 3 people daily. She signs emails “in gratitude” and keeps a gratitude box filled with every thank you note she receives. She’s also using gratitude to change her work environment.
Dr. Aiken begins meetings with a moment of gratitude, sends hand-written thank-you notes to her coworkers’ homes, and encourages others to incorporate the practice with her “gratitude tree.” It’s now a permanent fixture in the hallway and displays the gratitude of everyone who works there.
Practicing Gratitude
While you’ll likely feel the effects of gratitude quickly, it may take longer to get into the practice of being grateful. Dr. Aiken suggests you commit to gratitude and remember to give yourself grace as you make it a habit.
“When I first decided that I wanted to express gratitude to someone 3 times a day, I had to put it in my calendar,” she says. “I kept 3 paper clips in one of my lab coat pockets, and every time I did it, I switched a paper clip to the other side. Sharing your gratitude doesn’t always come naturally.”
But it’s important to share those feelings, Dr. Aiken adds. Gratitude is a 2-way street — the true power comes from both giving and receiving it.
“If we can bring more gratitude into our days and support each other with gratitude at work, it would improve how we feel about our jobs,” Dr. Aiken says. “But I also believe that when we leave work and take that gratitude with us, it makes the world a better place.”
Tammy Aiken, DNP, RN, SANE, is the Network Director of Emergency and Trauma Services at Bassett Healthcare Network.
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Blog #healthynurse Spotlight
09/18/2024 1:54pm CDT
The #healthynurse Spotlight is a shout out to nurses who are making changes in their lives to improve their health and wellness. You can too! Read their stories for inspiration here.
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