Effects Of Stress In Nursing

Staff nurses have great responsibilities in caring for patients. Often, these nurses experience heavy workload. Heavy patient load and stress contributes to burnout. Why is burnout important to discuss in relation to nurses? Burnout affects the performance of the nurse and the quality of care he or she provides to the patient. Therefore, it is imperative that staff nurses decrease the possibility of burnout and increase or maintain excitement and enjoyment in the field of nursing. If nurses do so, they will find joy in their work and quality of patient care will be increased. Contributors to burnout and

In today’s society, the nursing profession experiences high levels of stress and burnout. Oftentimes, manual labor preformed by nurses requires close interaction with patients, either physically or mentally. Therefore, it is common for one to deal with intense manner such as fear, distortion, pain, frustration, etc. Due to the fact of daily stress and workload, nurses tend to become burned out. The use of the term, burnout refers to stressful aspects, eventually generating unpleasant attitude that affects patient care. Also the unsatisfactory feeling of doing a job they formerly admired. In addition, to no longer maintaining the passion and effort they once upheld. This paper will discuss the risk factors associated to nurse burnout.

Nurses work long hours and deal with high levels of stress during the workday which leads to nurse burnout. Nurse burnout is classified as physical and mental fatigue, which strongly affects the nurses emotions and motivation. (“Nursing Burnout”). Burnout is caused by various factors within the workplace, such as dealing with a hectic, fast-paced environment, caring for too many patients at one time, and working odd hours. When nurses deal with multiple patients per shift, high levels of responsibility, and their own personal problems, they can become exhausted and overwhelmed. Stress due to burnout can also affect the nurse’s mood in a negative way, causing the nurse to become impatient or irritable, which can oftentimes results in verbal or emotional abuse towards the

Work related stress has an impact on the health and wellbeing of nurse’s. It is a response to work demands, and pressure that may not match the employee’s knowledge, skills or ability and challenge their ability to cope (World Health Organisation (WHO), 2017). Stress within the workforce is regarded

upon nurses which might be expected to increase their work related stress and reduce the

Stress has been linked to hypertension, heart attacks, diabetes, asthma, chronic pain, allegeries, headaches, skin disorders, cancer, immune system weakness and decrease blood count (Cummings et al, 2005). It has also been linked to an increase risk of alcoholism and drug use. High levels of stress can lead to higher absenteeism, larger staff turnover and low productivity. The symptoms are evident in the quantitative data, with an

Nursing is more demanding than many other professions or occupations, as a result of the combination of sicker patients, exhausting schedules and arduous physical work (Gordon 235). It can take a significant emotional toll on many, hence the higher levels of depression and stress-related illnesses (Gordon, Buchanan, and Bretherton 190). Higher workloads not only were related to burnout, but also impacted both the nurses’ and the patients’ safety (Gordon, Buchanan, and Bretherton 191).

There are many effects it takes to be a nurse, some good and some bad. There are many factors that can influence stress on a nurse. There are many pros, cons and effects on nurses. In the article, “The Long Term Effects On Your Body From Being a Nurse”, the pros is that nursing is a delightful blend of on intellectual and physical aspects of the nurses mind and body. The cons in this article are that every time you pull up a patient in bed, help transfer, or take care of a shaky patient, this puts yourself at risk for injury. The effects of all of this are that nursing can affect your knees, back, and feet. Nurses are known for having sore feet, the knee pain is associated with lifting, bending, and squatting. In my second article, “10 Must-Know

Stressful work environments, long work hours and inadequate sleep all contribute to an increase in physical and mental exhaustion amongst nurses. Typically, people choose nursing as a career to help others and to make a difference in their lives, without realizing the number of duties this career demands. Nurses may suffer in silence when they are experiencing stress. The effects can impact safe and reliable care by decreasing job satisfaction, decreasing productivity, causing poor personal health, and compromising patient care. Many facilities would benefit from implementing evidence-based strategies to address nurse fatigue and burnout.

Nurses are continuously exposed to high levels of stress and anxiety that, over time, can affect job performance. In the article “The impact of job stress on the job performance of nurses” the main focus is hospitals in Irbid, but can also be related to hospitals in North Carolina. The study was conducted by Dr. Fatima lahcen and Yachou Ait Yassine in August of 2016. To make a more accurate reading on stress, related to age, gender, and education, they decided to conduct an educational survey. Many of the individuals who took the survey were nurses, and was notably a moderate level of stress leading to fairly high levels of job

There are numerous elements that contribute to stress in the healthcare setting. Nurses’ days are full of physical, mental and emotional demands. There are societal demands and workplace demands created by the shortage. These stressors can become increasingly overwhelming and if there is no stress relief, job performance can and will be hindered. When fatigue and stress combine there is potential for “performance decrements”. This can include diminished capacity to manage a specific level of workload resulting in errors in the delivery of nursing care. This can produce damaging effects on the safety and advantageous outcomes for both the nurses and patients. (Reese, 2011). Therefore, finding a balance between lowering stress levels of

Nurses are especially vulnerable to several related effects of stress, such as burnout, job dissatisfaction, increased interpersonal problems, increased health complaints, disturbances in sleep patterns, as well as clinical depression and anxiety (Villani, Grassi, Cognetta, Toniolo, Cipresso, & Riva, 2013). The potential for stress can be reduced by resolving difficulties in the workplace promptly, addressing staff shortages, turnover and absenteeism, and developing clear objectives and plans (McIntosh, & Sheppy, 2013). Learning to manage and reduce stress by developing insight and coping strategies will help to maintain and promote nursing integrity and consistent patient care (McIntosh, & Sheppy, 2013).

The nursing field is an occupation that is naturally subject to a high degree of stress because professionals in this field deal with grief, suffering, and death cases. The vulnerability to stress in the nursing occupation is also fueled by the fact that several nursing tasks tend to be mundane and unrewarding. In normal standards, nursing tasks range from being distasteful to degrading, disgusting, and frightening. Generally, many visits by patients to health care services are usually brought by stress-related illnesses to an extent that 90 percent of these visits are associated to stress. Therefore, stress is part of nearly every person's existence since it's linked to the development of mental disorders, enhanced stress-related diseases, and minimized immunologic function.

Stress is something that affects many people each and every day. Life is full of hassles, deadlines, frustrations, and demands. For some people stress is so common it is a way of life. Stress can be very harmful and or helpful. It could help motivate you to meet a deadline and perform a task under pressure. Stress can also be very harmful, such as memory problems, moodiness, aches and pains, and eating more or less.

      It is critical to understand important stress management skills.  If stress is not dealt with, it can result in a burnout, or perhaps worse, "People who experience high levels of anxiety are four to five times more likely to die of a heart attack or stroke" (Morrison