Hans Selye said, “It is not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.” Stress can cause it’s victims to suffer from emotional and physical anguish. If stress occurs for prolonged periods of time with little to no reprieve it can result in serious and sometimes fatal health problems. It is ironic that stress can lead to major health concerns, yet some of the most stressed people are those in the healthcare profession. According to an article from the Nursing Standard, stress is a leading cause of illness and depression among nurses (Jones-Berry, 2013). Several studies have shown that there is a direct link between stress, depression and illness and often times nurses fall victim to this link because of poor work environments and a lack of appropriate sick leave to tend to their own needs. Research has shown that stress amidst nurses is directly related to depression and illness; therefore, hospitals need to take actions necessary to decrease stress and promote well-being among their nursing staff. Work-related or occupational stress is defined as “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demands placed on them at work,” (Burke, 2013). Nurses are exposed to high levels of occupational stress as a result of heavy workloads, extended working hours and high levels of time pressure (Tsai & Liu, 2012). Demanding work environments place a great deal of pressure on nurses to get their tasks done without allowing them sufficient control and support to manage those demands. According to one study, lack of decision-making authority and a deficit of social support from supervisors is directly associated with the development of stress-related symptoms (Tsai & Liu, 2012). Such a work environment causes a... ... middle of paper ... ...ones-Berry, S. (2013). Too much pressure: NHS employers must invest in nurses’ wellbeing Nursing Standard, 28(2), 12-13. Nadeem, B. (2013). RCN poll finds half of nurses unwell due to work pressures. Nursing Management-UK, 20(7), 10. National Institute for Health Care Excellence. (2009). Promoting mental wellbeing through Productive and healthy working conditions: Guidance for employers. Retrieved from National Institute for Health and Care Excellence website: http://tinyurl.com/papowoc Sprinks, J. (2013). Work-life imbalance and the pressures that are making nurses sick. Nursing Standard, 28(6), 14-15. Tsai, Y., & Liu, C. (2012). Factors and symptoms associated with work stress and health- Promoting lifestyles among hospital staff: A pilot study in taiwan. BioMed Central Health Services Research, 12(199), 1-8. doi: 10.116/1472-6963-12-199
Nurses are the largest and the most trusted professional group in the health care system. They are highly educated and skilled in their areas of practice. However, today’s nurses are experiencing an ever increasing workload, which negatively impacts their ability to deliver safe patient care (Berry & Curry, 2012). This paper explores four published journals that report on survey results on nursing workload and their direct correlation with patient care outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to address the ongoing nursing workload issues and explore the reasons behind it.
In the recent past, nursing has come to the forefront as a popular career amongst students across the globe. The demand for nurses has kept increasing gradually over the years. In fact, the number of registered nurses does not meet the demand of the private and public health sector. This phenomenon has resulted in a situation where the available registered nurses have to work extra hours in order to meet the patients’ needs. With this in mind, the issue of nurse fatigue has come up as a common problem in nursing. According to the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), nurse fatigue is “a feeling of tiredness” that penetrates a persons physical, mental and emotional realms limiting their ability to function normally. Fatigue does not just involve sleepiness as has been assumed before. It involves utter exhaustion that is not easily mitigated through rest. When nurses ignore the signs of fatigue, they risk the development of chronic fatigue and other health problems that may not be easily treated. Additionally, fatigue may cause nurses to lose more time at work as they may have to be away from work for several days to treat it. The issue of nurse fatigue has permeated the nursing profession to the extent of causing errors in the work performed by nurses. Fatigue causes a decrease in a nurse’s ability to make accurate decisions for themselves and their patients. It is therefore important to find ways to curb nurse fatigue such that it is no longer a problem. Nurse fatigue is a danger to the patients, organizations and to the nurses themselves and must be mitigated adequately.
Nurses need to be physically and mentally able to deliver their duties to ensure the safety and health of those they care for. Thus, occupational stress among nurses is significant.
I think shortages of nurses can also be a factor in why nurses are overworked and stressed. In most hospitals you can’t even tell if there is a nurse shortage, the nurses run around from patient to patient I’m trying to still provide the same quality care. My aunt is a registered nurse for Northeast medical center and I asked her out of the previously 11 listed reasons nurses are stressed which do you experience the most. She replied, “I have to say that I experience number one which is work overload the most. When I started working as a nurse 37 years ago there were three separate shifts throughout a day and there’s could work instead of the two 7am-7pm. The nursed patient ratio was a lot lower we got to spend time with the patients we had during the day and provide individual attention. You didn’t feel overwhelmed because the hospital had enough nurses. Now they nurses doing e same amount of work as two or three nurses combined, and are still expected to do
Some of the strategies that can help prevent the high burnout rate among nurses include social and psychological support as well as empowerment. The ability of an organization to retain nurses primarily depends on the creation of an environment conductive to professional autonomy (Hatmaker, 2014, p. 227). Organizations should create an open environment where nurses have an avenue for mutual support. Examples of a program that may result in mutual support among nurses include sharing of workload among team members. Additionally, organizations should create time for social interaction among nursing teams. This can be done through social events such as annual retreats. Social events help to address the issue of burnout by building trust and strong bond between nurses (Portnoy, 2011). The other strategy for dealing with the issue of nurse burnout is supervisor support. Healthcare facilities should encourage meetings between the nurses and supervisors to talk about issues affecting their work. Apart from receiving support from their colleagues and supervisors, nurses need to be empowered. One way of empowering them is by providing them with better salaries and remuneration. The other way is by availing to them opportunities for advancing their education, such as by refunding the tuition fee. They should also be provided with an opportunity to climb the profession ladder such as through promotions. Nurses also need psychological empowerment which
Ryan, D. & Watson, R. (2004). A healthier future; Workplace stress is increasingly recognized as a contributing factor to employee absence and illness. Investors in Health (IIH) is one response to the problem. Occupational Health, July 3, 2004, p. 20. Retrieved on October 21, 2004 from InfoTrac OneFile Database.
One of the most serious issues in nursing, that can affect a nurses career is nursing burn- out. According to the article “Where have all the nurses gone”, current nurses that are practicing, report high rates of job dissatisfaction (which is part of burn out) and 1 of 5 nurses may quit nursing in the next 5 years (Dworkin, 2002). Burnout is associated with nurses not coming in to work, not feeling satisfied when doing their job, high turnover rates and a lack of commitment to the work (Katisfaraki, 2013). If a nurse becomes burned- out, they may not take care of their patients as well and could make mistakes with medication administration. A study performed in the United States by Dr. Jeannie Cimiottti, shows that hospitals with high burn-out rates among nurses have higher levels UTI’s, and surgical infections (World, 2012). Nursing burnout not only affects the nurse, but it also affects the patient, the nurses’ colleagues, and the nurses’ family; nursing burn out often leads to emotional exhaustion and depression, that can effect relations and communication between the nurse effected and the person they are communicating with. This paper will cover what burn-out is, who is susceptible to burn out, and treatment and prevent nursing burn out.
Health care workers experience adverse effects from occupational stress. This type of stress is detrimental to the workers, patients, and the hospital itself. To respond to this ongoing problem, stress felt by workers should be reported, and treatment should be provided by the hospital. This will help reduce or ultimately eliminate occupational stress by deducing the sources that are causing or contributing to the stress, and by offering treatment options, it will alleviate the burden felt by workers. Hospital policy should enstate a mandatory session where they can discuss signs of occupational stress and the available treatment options. This will go a long way towards creating positive work environments, and interactions. This hospital policy,
Occupational Stress and Health Introduction In recent years, occupational stress and health have gained considerable importance to people in all forms life. Keeping in mind, the excessive work load, amount of time spent at work and the recent changes that are affecting the nature of work, it is not surprising that work stress today is increasing (Szymanski, 1999). Stress can be caused due to a number of reasons and in many ways and those things are known as stressors which may vary from person to person. According to the United States National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (1999), job stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker.
The nursing profession is one of the most physically, emotionally, and mentally taxing career fields. Working long shifts, placing other’s needs before your own, dealing with sickness and death on a regular basis, and working in a high stress environment are all precursors to developing occupational burnout in the nursing profession. Burnout refers to physical, emotional and mental exhaustion, which can lead to an emotionally detached nurse, who feels hopeless, apathetic, and unmotivated. Burnout extends beyond the affected nurse and begins to affect the care patients receive. Researchers have found that hospitals with high burnout rates have lower patient satisfaction scores (Aiken et al 2013). There are various measures that nurses can take
Recent literature reports that there is a nursing shortage and it is continually increasing. Data released by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2011) projects that the shortage, would increase to 260,000 by the year 2025. AACN (2011) also reported that 13% of newly registered nurses changed jobs and 37% were ready to change within a year. A study conducted reports that there is a correlation between higher nursing workloads and nurse burnout, retention rates, job dissatisfaction and adverse patient outcomes (Vahey & Aiken, 2004). Among the nurses surveyed in the study, over 40% stated that they were suffering from burnout while 1 in 5 nurses intended
Factors such as, heavy workloads, stress, job dissatisfaction, frequent medical errors, and intention of leaving the job are all common for nurses to experience, especially during the nursing shortage crisis. Not only do the nurses suffer during a shortage, but the patients ' health outcomes suffer even more. For instance, there are higher rates of infectious diseases and adverse patient outcomes, such as urinary tract infections (UTIs), upper gastrointestinal bleeding, shock, pneumonia, prolonged hospital stays, failure to rescue, and mortality. As a result, this leads to higher re-admission rates for patients. Furthermore, high patient-to-nurse ratios cause heavy workloads due to an inadequate supply of nurses, an increased demand for nurses, a reduction in staffing and an increase in overtime, and a shortened length of stay for patients. Without the heavy workloads that nurses have to endure on a daily basis, there would more time for nurses to communicate more effectively with physicians, insurance companies, and patients and their families. Those heavy workloads are the result of hospitals reducing the nursing staff and implementing mandatory overtime policies just to meet unexpectedly high demands. Unfortunately, the nursing shortage has affected nurses ' mental and physical health. For example, the most common health concerns for nurses include cardiovascular health, occupational injuries and illnesses, and emotional and physical exhaustion. Therefore, safe-staffing ratios/levels have to become the main
Schmidt, K. H., & Diestel, S. (2012). Job demands and personal resources in their relations to indicators of job strain among nurses for older people. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 69(10), 2185-2195.
A high workload has negative implications for nurses as well. Consequences of heavy workload include stress, burnout, and dissatisfaction, thus affecting motivation for quality patient care. Furthermore, nursing overload was also associated with increased absenteeism (as cited in Fasoli & Haddock, 2010, p. 2).
Everyday, there are workers who come home from their jobs with a high amount of health issues. Headaches, aching muscles, exhaustion, and many more health issues have workers wondering why this is happening. All of these symptoms can be linked to stress in the workplace. Job stress has become more of a problem than ever before. Numerous studies show that job stress is the major source of stress for American adults and that it has escalated progressively over the past few decades (“Workplace Stress,” 2004).