This study aimed to investigate the impact of a ‘Community of Practice’ (CoP) intervention on stress, burnout, resilience, job satisfaction and mindfulness among cancer clinical nurse consultants (CNCs) working in a large metropolitan cancer centre. The experiences of CoP participants were also explored.
A consecutive mixed methods approach incorporating a one-group pre and post-test intervention design with qualitative interviews was employed. The intervention consisted of six CoP meetings incorporating structured professional development, networking and mindfulness training. The first CoP was delivered in-person with the remainder online due to COVID-19 restrictions. Participants completed validated and reliable questionnaires at baseline data (T0), after the 4th CoP (T2) and after the 6th CoP (T2) with data analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative interviews were conducted online and data analysed thematically.
Thirteen CNCs completed the measures at all three time points and five contributed to qualitative interviews. No statistically significant differences in job satisfaction, burnout, stress, resilience, or mindfulness were observed between measures except for a decline in personal satisfaction from baseline to T1 and a decline in satisfaction with pay between T1 and T2. Across the study period participants reported fair-to-good overall job satisfaction, high resilience, moderate mindfulness, moderately low stress and low levels of burnout. Five main themes were inductively derived from the qualitative data: Challenges of role; Existing and desired support; Introducing a community of practice; Importance of connection and relationship building; Acknowledgement, support and promotion of role.
The CoP brought cancer CNCs in siloed but similar roles together to learn and connect. The CoP was conducted during a global pandemic when nurses faced unprecedented challenges in their roles. Despite this, participants in the CoP were able to maintain their good baseline levels of job satisfaction, resilience, mindfulness, stress and burnout.