Current UF Health psychiatric nurses and Doctor of Nursing Practice students Mariah Rappazzo, RN and Genevieve Banaang, RN, as well as UF College of Nursing associate professor Victoria Menzies, PhD, APRN, FAAN, are currently working to improve de-escalation and de-briefing skills when engaging with the psychiatric patient. As part of the UF Health-UF College of Nursing Demonstration Project initiative, the team connected to create educational training for health care workers to teach staff about a special ‘debriefing model,’ that is ultimately intended to be used system-wide.

This model, which features revisions to psychiatric codes, introduces reassuring language to patients before an incident occurs in high-stress situations, opportunities for staff to voice concerns and kind gestures such as a fresh change of clothes to make patients feel more at ease, has transformed how nurses and other health care workers communicate with those in their care, as well as each other.

“Staff morale, decreased risk for injury and a feeling of being supported are all important in nursing, and especially so in psychiatric mental healthcare settings,” Baanang said.” That is why it is imperative to address risk in the mental health care setting, as well as reassure members of the mental health care team to understand that they are also being cared for.” Baanang said

The project originally got its start when the UF Health nurse pair decided to improve upon the training provided by their former nurse educator by offering this debriefing model and its resources to all staff throughout UF Health. Above all else, the team hopes their efforts will help protect staff members facing behavioral concerns as they engage with patients.

“We are very passionate about what we do and keeping our nurses and staff safe while caring for patients,” said Rappazzo. “It was our hope these trainings would ensure that everyone walks away with a sense of confidence, and most importantly, feels safe and heard.”

After completing their educational training, the team distributed surveys to staff to determine how these resources impacted staff on each unit. Now putting the final touches on their data analysis, the group plans to present their findings at the Florida Nurse Association conference in Orlando later in July.