Morale, stress and coping strategies of staff working in the emergency department: A comparison of two different‐sized departments

Abstract

Objective: Clinical staff in EDs are subject to a range of stressors. The objective of this study was to describe and compare clinical staff perceptions of their ED's working environment across two different Australian EDs. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive, research design that included distribution of three survey tools to clinical staff in two Australian EDs in 2016. Descriptive statistics were reported to characterise workplace stressors, coping styles and the ED environment. These data were compared by hospital and the employee's clinical role (nurse or physician). Results: In total, 146 ED nurses and doctors completed the survey (response rate: 67%). Despite geographical variation, the staff at the two locations had similar demographic profiles in terms of age, sex and years of experience. Staff reported moderate levels of workload and self-realisation but low levels of conflict or nervousness in the workplace. Nurses and physicians reported similar perceptions of the work environment, although nurses reported slightly higher median levels of workload. Staff rated the death or sexual abuse of a child as most stressful, followed by workplace violence and heavy workload. Staff used a large range of coping strategies, and these were similar across both sites. Conclusion: These findings are the first multi-site and multidisciplinary examinations of Australian ED staff perceptions, improving our understanding of staff stressors and coping strategies and highlighting similarities across different EDs. These data support the development and implementation of strategies to improve ED working environments to help ensure professional longevity of ED staff.

Simplifying the care plan documentation procedure – An interview study with nurses at a medical ward at a university hospital in Sweden

“…According to the pressure of healthcare services, high demands are placed on nurses in response to the patient's needs, resources and conditions (physical, psychological, social and spiritual). Morale stress is influenced by organizational systems and limited resources, [40] but job satisfaction lowers the sense of work-related frustration. [41] At the same time, nurses have to fulfil time-consuming routine work, such as risk assessments, using quality registers with limited use due to a patient's needs.…”

“…Similar results found in the present study can be termed morale stress, because nurses strive for a high quality of healthcare. [40][41][42] The results show that nurses' experiences with care plans vary; some nurses experienced formulating care plans more easily than others due to their specific interests and knowledge of documentation and IT. Newly graduated nurses have limited knowledge from nursing education regarding how to formulate and document care plans in medical records.…”

Staff perceptions of the emergency department working environment: An international cross‐sectional survey

“…Characteristics of responders were reported by hospital and country. Data from the two Australian sites were combined as our previous work has shown these to be similar . Median (and interquartile range [IQR]) were computed for each of the work stress items, WES‐10 subscales and JCS subscales by hospital country (Australia or Sweden), age, sex, job title (nurse or doctor) and length of employment within the ED.…”

oneED: Embedding a mindfulness‐based wellness programme into an emergency department

“…ED staff work in intense, chaotic and unpredictable environments and have been shown to have the highest levels of psychological distress among all healthcare providers . These difficulties can lead to organisational problems such as disengagement, absenteeism and low staff retention…”

“…3,4 ED staff work in intense, chaotic and unpredictable environments and have been shown to have the highest levels of psychological distress among all healthcare providers. [5][6][7] These difficulties can lead to organi-sational problems such as disengagement, absenteeism and low staff retention. 8 Measures of staff well-being, such as burnout, are linked to patient satisfaction 9,10 and are hypothesised to impact clinical outcomes such as medication errors.…”