Stress, coping behaviors, and recommendations for intensive care and medical surgical ward registered nurses

Abstract

Forty one intensive care unit and 61 medical surgical ward registered nurses from two large urban teaching hospitals completed a stress questionnaire to examine stress factors, coping behaviors, and recommendations for alleviating stress within the work environment. Stress variables were grouped into five clusters: (a) patient‐related, (b) environmental, (c) management‐related, (d) interpersonal, and (e) knowledge and skills. Multivariate analysis of variance demonstrated a significant main effect, with the ward nurses perceiving environmental factors as more stressful. Stress factors tend to be related to the overall hospital environment, especially in relation to specific work areas within the institutions.