Recharging in the Moment: A Quality of Life Study.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine whether healthcare professionals' access to a unit-specific respite room compared to an organizational respite room leads to improved compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress.

Design: This quasi-experimental matched pairs prospective study compared compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress as measured by the Professional Quality of Life (ProQoL) Scale for healthcare professionals with access to a unit-specific respite room (intervention) compared to the organizational respite room (control).

Methods: The ProQoL Scale for healthcare professionals was administered pre- and post-intervention to the intervention and control group.

Results: Results indicated statistically significant improvements in all three ProQOL subscales for the interventional group post-intervention, while the control group showed stagnation or decline.

Clinical relevance to the practice of rehabilitation nursing: This study demonstrates the relevance of access to unit-specific respite rooms in promoting the well-being of rehabilitation nurses, who experience prolonged exposure to secondary stress.

Conclusion: Providing accessible, private spaces for on-the-spot stress recovery can enhance resilience and enable these professionals to provide high-quality care.