Improving Oncology Nurses’ Workplace Wellbeing Through Aromatherapy With Jeri Lowman, MSN, RN, BMTCN®, OCN®

Addressing Nurse Wellbeing

Lowman began by highlighting the persistent challenge of stress and burnout in oncology nursing. She noted, “Oncology nursing is not easy. Nurses are faced with a lot of stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue.” Organizational surveys have revealed that many oncology nurses feel that their health and wellbeing are not adequately supported. This concern became the impetus for exploring interventions that could be implemented with minimal disruption to patient care.

Aromatherapy in Practice

The intervention centered on the use of lavender aromatherapy patches, which are small stickers worn on the nurse’s shirt. The project was conducted over two weeks in an outpatient oncology infusion center. The first week served as a control with no intervention, while in the second week, nurses wore the aromatherapy patches during their shifts.

Lowman explained, “We wanted to see the impact of lavender aromatherapy on reducing stress levels in the outpatient oncology infusion center. We decided to do a two-week project where we did pre- and post-shift stress levels. The first week was no intervention. In the second week, we had the nurses wear an aromatherapy patch, which is just a little sticker on that you can put on your shirt, and it doesn’t interfere with patient care.”

Significant Reduction in Perceived Stress

The results were notable. According to Lowman, “When we looked at our data, the average post-shift stress level dropped from an average of 4.2 to 2.5, almost a 40% decrease in nurses’ perceived stress levels when they wore the lavender during their shifts.” The intervention was described as “easy to use, easy to implement,” and did not interfere with patient care.

Benefits and Limitations

Feedback from participating nurses was generally positive, though not without caveats. Some nurses found the scent too strong, with Lowman recounting, “At the beginning of the study, some of the nurses said it was too strong. So, instead of ripping the plastic all the way off, they would just rip it open a little bit.” A few nurses reported mild headaches or drowsiness, but these side effects were not widespread. As Lowman noted, “A couple people said they felt like it maybe gave them a headache. A couple other nurses just said it made them sleepy, so they took it off.”

Implications and Future Directions

Lowman expressed interest in expanding the project to other high-stress clinical environments, such as emergency rooms or intensive care units. She also acknowledged the potential for studying aromatherapy’s effects on other healthcare professionals and even patients. “It would be interesting to get some data on what their stress levels are perceived before and after in those situations where they’re really in stressful situations taking care of patients,” she said.

She also discussed the choice of delivery method, noting that while some studies have used diffusers at nurses’ stations, the patch format was preferable for this project due to its consistency and ease of use: “It like a perfect product for what we were trying to achieve.”

Key Takeaways for Oncology Professionals

• Aromatherapy is a feasible, low-impact intervention for reducing perceived stress among oncology nurses, with a nearly 40% reduction observed in this quality improvement project.
• Implementation is straightforward; the use of wearable patches did not interfere with patient care and required minimal training or resources.
• Nurse feedback should be considered; while most found the intervention beneficial, some experienced the scent as too strong or reported mild side effects.
• Broader applications are possible; there is potential to expand aromatherapy interventions to other high-stress clinical settings and to study their effects on other healthcare professionals and patients.
• Organizational support for nurse wellbeing is critical; as Lowman emphasized, “It’s important work, but it can lead to burnout, and you just have to take care of yourself as a nurse and be willing to do that for yourself.”

About the Speaker

Jeri Lowman, MSN, RN, BMTCN^®, OCN^®, is a Clinical Nurse Educator for the Cellular Therapy Program at the University of Colorado Hospital. With 20 years of experience in oncology nursing, she has specialized in malignant hematology and infusion care, serving in both bedside and educational roles. She is passionate about advancing nurse wellbeing and has led quality improvement initiatives focused on stress reduction and support for oncology nurses.