Promoting Passion: A field study to boost nurses passion for work

One of the main reasons nurses come to work is because they care about their patient’s well-being. However, for a variety of reasons (eg shift work, paperwork and understaffing), nurses currently do not have the feeling that they are adequately fulfilling this value. Where this mismatch between values and perceptions exists, nurses are more likely to report low levels of energy, lower job satisfaction and intentions to quite their NHS Trust. To combat this, Jon Jachimowicz and senior management at The Walton Centre designed a pilot intervention which is currently being tested.

When patients leave the hospital, they now receive a letter from the Trust’s CEO that outlines how much the nurses enjoy hearing from their patients, and reminding patients how important it is to say thank you. Patients also receive a postmarked envelope addressed to the ward that treated them, and a Thank You card. The names of the nurses that worked on the patient’s case are also included. These Thank You cards are then prominently displayed on the ward, such that nurses can see their former patient’s appreciation for their work.

This project applies the same methodology in a more rigorous design at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Data will be collected on nurse burnout, turnover, sick days, performance and patient care quality, and analysed in multilevel regressions.

Contact details

For more information about this project, please contact:

• Jon Jachimowicz, Columbia Business School
• Bethany Brown, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
• Diane Redfern-Tofts, Assistant Research Manager at The Health Foundation