Occupational stress in psychiatric nursing

Abstract

Psychiatric nursing is invariably assumed to be a stressful area of nursing practice. Empirical evidence to support this proposition is limited, however, due to the lack of research in this field. The purpose of this project was to examine occupational stress in a specified area of psychiatric nursing. The research was exploratory and therefore the concern was discovery and description rather than the testing of clear hypotheses and the development of causal relationships. The study has four main objectives. First, to describe the various stressors present in the work of the psychiatric nurse in the acute admission wards of two district health authorities. Secondly, to measure the effects of stress using a recognized and well-validated instrument for recording levels of burnout. Thirdly, through the use of a particular theoretical framework to identify the types of coping strategy used by the participants in the study. Fourthly, to note any clear associations between the stressors, the effects of stress and the ways of coping identified in the study. The conceptual basis for the project was Lazarus's cognitive theory of stress and coping and Maslach's model of burnout.

Morale is high in acute inpatient psychiatry

“…They were also lower than Sullivan's 1993 sample of 78 UK acute ward nurses [25] for emotional exhaustion (p = 0.044) and depersonalisation (p < 0.001). These differences remain the same if all questionnaires with any missing data are excluded from the analysis.…”

Does Formulation of Service Users’ Difficulties Improve Empathy in Forensic Mental Health Services?

“…Working within a forensic setting has been highlighted as particularly challenging for staff. The perceived threat of violence felt by staff within these settings has been hypothesized to lead to increased stress (Joseph, 1993), thereby affecting the ability of staff to empathize with service users. Sandhu, Rose, Rosthill-Brookes, and Thrift (2012) discussed the specific challenges staff face when working with service users who had committed sexual or sexually related offenses.…”

Burnout as a clinical entity—its importance in health care workers

“…68 Employing the Holmes and Rahe method of scaling stress, 69 a study of psychiatrists at a large public mental hospital showed that most of the events rated as highly stressful fell into the category of administrative and organizational shortcomings. 70 Fully agreeing that nursing is a stressful occupation, Sullivan 71 studied the specialized area of nursing practice that involves daily dealing with the psychological distress and suffering of the mentally disordered. He steers away from the profession's belief that stress is an individual problem, claiming that both the individual and the organization must accept some responsibility regarding the control and management of stress, chiding executives for their style of management, he asks that the difficulties of nursing be recognized, the climate be geared to minimizing individual stress, and individual performance be maximized.…”