Environmental and occupational stress amongst male nurses working in medical wards

Abstract

Stress and burnout amongst nurses, is a troubling phenomena, worldwide. This study examined male nurses' A. experienced areas of stress at work. B. experienced effects arising from stress and burnout. C. methods of coping in face of stressful situations. D. likelihood to withdraw from the profession as a means to alleviate stress. A questionaire was formulated from literature search and informal interview findings with practicing nurses. A randomly selected sample of 29 male nurses working on five medical wards, resulted to be a relatively youthful work force. All subjects accepted full participation in the study. Findings indicated respondents' perception, that certain 'environmental' and 'occupational' stressors which result from organisational mismanagement and inadequate job content, cause more stress than stressors inherent in the nature of the job itself.

Consequently, effects experienced by a considerable number of participants, indicated that half the burnout symptoms addressed in the instrument, ranked amonqst the ten most frequently indicated effects. Problem-focused coping was more used than other coping techniques, and the majority of respondents favoured ' relaxation techniques' and 'staff meetings', as a means to alleviate stress. However, the number of nurses determined to change profession within the next three years, or were still thinking about it, shows a worrying trend. To compound the problem, all respondents knew of other nurses who wished to change their job. Only the view of a limited number of male nurses was examined and so research into the topic of stress and burnout on an institutional level is needed, to enable generalised conclusions.