[Jen]

1. Write a 150-word discussion post on the following question: Did you send your SBAR email to your manager or supervisor? Why did you send and what was the response? Why did you not send it?

2. Comment on one other participant’s post:

• Ask a clarifying question
• Offer a different perspective
• Share your reflections or your experience

[Ashley]

I did not choose to send my email to my manager/office for a variety of reasons but the most important ones being:
– Scale – I work for a small company with a nursing team of only a few. We do not currently have the manpower/resources to take on a research project.
– Confidentiality – due to the size of our company I believe it would be nearly impossible to collect data on our families experiences without exposing them, no safe-guard would be secure enough to offer them anonymity with such small sampling.

If I was going to send it along I would keep the language/tone the same as I initially wrote it. I was intentional in my informal tone and focused on rapport building using a tone that mirrors the office staffs language when communicating with me. I may even limit how much of the SBAR content I would send if sending it for real because I think I would get a prompter response, and more agreeable one at that, if I simply stated the rest of the content and asked to come in to discuss it in person with them. I would be concerned that it would be perceived as too much “content” dumping without some buy-in from my stakeholders.

[Brandon]

You make a really good point about the challenges of confidentiality and sample size when working in a smaller organization. I can see how that could make implementing a research initiative difficult, especially when it involves client data. Do you think there could still be opportunities for smaller-scale quality improvement projects within your team that don’t require as much formal data collection.

I also like your point about tailoring the tone of communication to your audience. Building rapport and approaching conversations in a way that matches workplace culture can definitely make leadership more receptive to new ideas, and have longevity to your research.

[Megan]

Hi Everyone,
I chose not to send the email as of yet. I’m challenged by not having access to some of the major allied health databases other than what i can find through my local library’s databases.
Whilst I think my prime articles are an excellent beginning to demonstrating the importance of my research topic, I suspect there is much more additional information to be found.

My school got back to me, however there is no alumi access to their databases.
I’m also unsure of whom to send the letter to. I can’t help but wonder if it would be more effective to send it to the Ontario Nurse’s Association. I looked up some of their advocacy efforts and they have lobbied for safer staffing ratios in the long-term care sector before. I am not currently a member but am looking into the requirements for membership. I was also able to see that within the WeRPN library, there is an article about staffing retention in long-term care, however I wasn’t able to get access beyond the abstract.

I selected my local member of provincial parliament as I felt they may be able to address my inquiry, but am hesitant to send.
Megan S.

[Ashley]

I can relate to your frustration about not having access beyond the free resources. I’m sorry there is no alumni option at your school. It is evident in your writing that you care about this issue and I respect your desire to see your voice heard. If you do plan to send it to your MP I would be happy to proof it again for you and help with any grammar etc.

So many times I thought I had found “THE” article, only to realize I could only access the abstract too. Onwards and upwards! Ash

[Brandon]

I did not send my SBAR email to my manager or supervisor because our research project, conducted under the 2025 WeRPN Research Fellowship, is still in progress. At this stage, we are in the middle of our ethics review and preparing for data collection, which will involve reaching out to the broader population of Registered Practical Nurses and Practical Nursing educators across Ontario. Since the research outcomes have not yet been finalized, I felt it was premature to formally communicate recommendations through an SBAR to my leadership team. Once our findings are analyzed and we have clear evidence to support the integration of structured research education into PN programs, I plan to share a finalized SBAR summary with leadership to advocate for potential curricular enhancements and improved support for evidence-informed practice among RPNs.

[Marissa]

I chose not to send my SBAR. The research topic I chose for this course is different than my actual research topic. I did this intentionally, so that none of my work for my research project and this course would become unintentionally blended. I am a recipient of the WeRPN fellowship program, and as such, my clinical manager is aware of my actual research project. She has been extremely supportive in providing time to participate in my research project as needed.

[Megan]

Hi Marissa,
I read your letter to your manager; I thought it was very organized and convincing.
How would you determine what qualifies as a traumatic event that would deem more mental health supports and interventions?
In my experience as a student, and my time and long-term care, I wondered why supports were not in place to cope with various situations.
In my training as a lifeguard and first aid instructor, critical incident stress training was included. I have received training in this area and also instructed on this topic to first aid and lifeguard candidates. However, nowhere in my nursing training and work experience, were any supports ever offered.
I would love it to be a standard practice that places of employment offer comprehensive debriefing for critical incident stress and trauma-informed care to healthcare employees. I think including this topic in the nursing clinical curriculum would be beneficial as well. Will you be developing research topic further once your current fellowship is complete?

[Marissa]

Hi Megan,
I think it is interesting how unavailable supports seem after traumatic incidents for healthcare workers. Given the nature of mental health, many of us have been exposed to violent assaults on both patients and staff, listening to extreme traumatic stories of patients, caring for patients after tragic incidents (for example, I have looked after someone who killed their mother in state of psychosis, and someone who was severely burned on most of their body after being lit on fire by a drug dealer), and routine exposures to threatening behaviours like name calling, threatening, and substance use. I realize these events can happen everywhere, but unfortunately, it is part of the ‘ daily norm’ for us. We have retention issues, as does everywhere, but many people are unprepared for what mental health entails. We see our colleagues enter prolonged stress leave after just simply seeing a patient who has previously violently assaulted them. Everyday, we provide the mental health care to our patients that many of us have started to need ourselves, simply from attending work. In the future, I would love to complete more research on this, but it would be dependent on feasibility, support, etc. These difficult topics did come up when we were discussing the fellowship application process, however, there is a time constraint of a year. Getting ethics approval would likely have eaten up most of my year, unfortunately.

My answer to your ‘criteria for traumatic question: Trauma is subjective. Any event that greatly impacts a person in a negative manner can and should be referred to as trauma. Healthcare workers are the epitome of Vicarious trauma, and we deserve support so that nurses are not leaving the profession, in fear of losing their licenses just for existing, and in worst cases, committing suicide. Every nurse who expresses that an encounter was difficult for them should be provided with support.

[Brandon]

Hello Marissa,

Great to also hear you are the recipient of the WeRPN Fellowship Grant. I can tell by the information I have been readying even though you said this is not your actual research topic if very interesting and you can tell the passion you have behind your wording. I am really looking forward to seeing your research.
I agree with your current topic of discussion in this, that I have seen way to many scenarios of violence and increased mental health symptoms due to working frontline and not feeling supported.

Goodluck with your fellowship grant 🙂

[Author]

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