Hardiness Training Among Nurse Managers: Building a Healthy Workplace

BACKGROUND: This exploratory study investigated development of a model hardiness training program to determine whether stress could be reduced and hardiness could be increased and sustained among nurse managers. METHOD: Thirteen nurse managers at an urban hospital completed pretests for hardiness levels and underwent initial hardiness training for 2.5 days. Posttests were completed after initial training, after the 6 weekly sessions, and after 6 and 12 months. RESULTS: Changes in hardiness scores between pretest and the first posttest were significant (p < .05). Scores after the third posttest were decreased for the subscale control but were unchanged for subscales commitment and challenge. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that the use of a hardiness training program and intermittent follow-up can be effective in increasing and sustaining hardiness levels in nurse managers and may have a positive impact on staff turnover rates.