Retains Students: Mood Improvement & Burnout Reduction

Abstract:
Recreational Music-Making: An Integrative Group Intervention for Reducing Burnout and Improving Mood States in First Year Associate Degree Nursing Students: Insights and Economic Impact (2004)Barry Bittman MD, Cherie Snyder MSS, Karl T. Bruhn, Fran Liebfried BSN, M.ED, RN Christine K. Stevens MSW, MT-BC, James Westengard BS, Paul O. Umbach MA
International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship: Vol. 1: No. 1, Article 12

Hypothesis: a cost-effective Mind-Body Wellness Exercise-based HealthRHYTHMS Recreational Music-Making protocol reduces burnout and improves mood states in First Year Associate Degree Nursing Students.
What we studied: At Allegany College of Maryland we studied 75 first year associate degree nursing students’ mood states (POMS-Profile of Mood States & MBI-Maslach Burnout Inventory) including: tension/anxiety, depression/dejection, anger/hostility, vigor/activity, fatigue/inertia and confusion/bewilderment. Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) is the sum of the above mood parameters weighing V/A negatively.

What we found: A 28.1% improvement in total mood disturbance. Economic Impact projections – a typical 105 -student program would expect to retain 2 additional students each year. This improvement in retention rates would result in a projected annual savings of $29.1 million to US Nursing Schools. Extending this analysis to the healthcare arena, these projected retention improvements could result in cost savings of $322,000 for the typical acute care hospital, and more than 1.5 billion for the US healthcare industry.