Internal options for managing personal stress
Working environment e wrong ventilation, lighting and the inadequate temperature levels (Gholamzadeh, Sharif, and Rad, 2011).
- Interpersonal relationships such as conflicts with co-workers, lack of staff support, and lack of understanding and support from the managers (Letvak, and Buck, 2008).
- Organizational factors such as increased job demands, work overload, and reduced advancement opportunities.
- Individual characteristics such as inadequateworking experience and education in handling the emotional needs of patients and management which causes anxiety within the nursing staff.
- Strict and unreasonable deadlines
- Exposure to infectious diseases
- Role ambiguity and conflict
Satisfactory Not Yet Satisfactory
- Identify four (4) personal triggers to stress.
- Fear and uncertainty
- Attitude and perceptions
- Unrealistic expectations
- Change
- Briefly describe four (4) strategies to prevent, reduce and manage stress.
- Avoid unnecessary stress. One should learn to say no to some things and thus be able to stick to the limits and exercise control of one’s environment.
- Alter the situation. One can brainstorm on what he/she can dot to change the situation in order to avoid recurrence of the problem in the future. This strategy can be achieved by freely expressing ones feelings instead of suppressing them. One must also be willing to compromise but still be more assertive
- Adapt to the stressor. If the stressor is not alterable, then the individual must be flexible and willing to change in order to adapt to the stressful situation. This can be accomplished by reframing the problems, looking at the big picture, adjusting of ones standards and being optimistic.
- Accept the situations that can’t be altered. There are some stress sources that are inevitable, thus demanding someone to accept things as they are in order to cope with stress (Chiesa, and Serretti, 2009).
- Briefly describe two (2) internal and two (2) external options and resources for additional support in managing personal stress in a nursing context.
Internal options for managing personal stress
- Attitude adjustment. The way a nurse thinks will positively or negatively affect his or her emotional and physical well-being. Thus, one should exercise in developing positive attitude towards issues in order to reduce and sometimes avoid tension
- Manage responsibilities. This can be done by the use of a calendar or planning app to keep track of tasks, duties, activities and other commitments (Lee, Stewart, and Brown, 2008).
External options for managing personal stress
- Seek services of a professional counsellor. A nurse can seek services of a professional counsellor on personal matters that cause stress. The counsellor guides the nurse in choosing the best and practical options of managing personal stress.
- Seeking the support services of a nutritionist and gym instructor with an aim of adopting a healthy lifestyle as a strategy of managing personal stress.
- How might the following complex client behaviours act as sources of stress in a health care work environment? (in 35 – 70 words each).
- Emotional client:
An emotional client is a source of stress because the client does not listen to and understand any explanation. This makes it difficult for a nurse to relax and quite the mind in order to make significant clinical decisions. In addition to the fact that nursing work is demanding, the emotional client further makes the health care work environment much difficult to work in.
An aggressive client is a source of threat and insecurity to the nurse and the health care environment. Such a client will make a health care worker to feel overwhelmed, fearful and depressed thus making him or her unable to deliver quality services effectively; an aspect that will comprise professionalism and consequently work promotion. The conduct of an aggressive client can also provoke the emotions of a nurse making her become agitated and moody, and this will further affect the quality of services rendered to the client and others because of the developed stress.
Client with cognitive deficit behaviors is a source of stress to the health worker because communication is hampered between the two making it impossible for the nurse to diagnose any illness. This becomes a sources of stress because the nurse can no longer work effectively to deliver. Additionally, cognitive deficit behavior can make lead to resistance to care due to misunderstanding
- Non-compliance with management and treatment:
Non-compliance with management and treatment can become stressful to the nurse who cannot offer treatment and yet is legally and ethically required of him/her to appropriately convince and offer medication. Additionally, the refusal to treatment may exacerbate the condition of the patient and this will affect the credibility of the nurse thus comprising her/his career. Thus, the nurse will be worried or stressed about his/her professionalism.
- How might the following potential sources of stress generally manifest in a health care work environment? (in 35 – 70 words each).
- Grief and loss experienced by nurses:
Nurses undergoing any form of grief and loss will detach themselves from other staff and thus become lonely. Such nurses will also become gloomy and depressed, and as a result they will not be active at work as normal thus affecting the quality of their services. They also be provoked easily if pushed to go against their wishes. As a result of depression, such nurses will also have poor memory since their mind is not at work but thinking on the grief and loss they are undergoing.
- Exposure to stressful working conditions:
Stressful working conditions is a source of stress that is likely to be manifested in the nurses through behaviors such as becoming easily agitated and gloomy. Consequently, the nurses will appear less interested at what they are doing for they feel that their effort is not being appreciated and that their hard work will not become fruitful under stressful working conditions, thus they will strive to achieve the minimum.
- Stressful incidents such as unexpected death of a patient:
An unexpected death of a patient is a source of stress to the nurse and is likely to be manifested in the form of low self-esteem and fear in handling patients with similar conditions or other patients generally. The nurse will also appear depressed due to the intimate relationship developed with the deceased patient. The nurse will also appear saddened and not active in handling other patients for fear of losing another one.
- Identify four (4) legal rights relating to the Fair Work Act 2009 that you must be aware of when working in an organisation.
- The employer shall ensure a guaranteed safety, relevant and with achievable minimum terms
- An employee should help employees to balance their job and family roles by offering flexible working schedules
- Foster fairness and representation at work and prevention of discrimination by respecting the rights of freedom of press, and providing accessible and practical procedures for conflict resolution
- The employer shall ensure workplace relations that are fair to workers, flexible for businesses, foster productivity and economic development of Australia’s economy
- Briefly describe the impact of self-care strategies such as exercise, appropriate diet and nutrition on the physical health of a person (in 50 – 80 words).
Exercise regulates weight because physical activity helps to burn calories thus helps to too much fat in the body which can lead to lifestyle diseases. Exercise also helps to prevent high blood pressure because being active improves high-density lipoprotein (Chaput et al., 2010).
An appropriate diet helps to reduce anxiety and depression. Studies show that a healthy alteration of dietary trends under the guidance of a nutritionist can assist in minimizing mood disorders (Khan, and Khan, 2016).
Healthy nutrition is the most significant aspect leading to a healthy lifestyle. Good nutrition ensures stability in weight, lower risk chronic diseases and foster overall health
- Identify five (5) complementary and alternative health options a person can access for self-care.
- Traditional medicines
- Massage
- Meditation
- Naturopathy
- aromatherapy
References
Chaput, J.P., Klingenberg, L., Rosenkilde, M., Gilbert, J.A., Tremblay, A. and Sjödin, A., 2010. Physical activity plays an important role in body weight regulation. Journal of obesity, 2011.
Chiesa, A. and Serretti, A., 2009. Mindfulness-based stress reduction for stress management in healthy people: a review and meta-analysis. The journal of alternative and complementary medicine, 15(5), pp.593-600.
Gholamzadeh, S., Sharif, F. and Rad, F.D., 2011. Sources of occupational stress and coping strategies among nurses who work in Admission and Emergency Departments of Hospitals related to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research, 16(1), p.41.
Khan, S. and Khan, R.A., 2016. Healthy Diet a Tool to Reduce Anxiety and Depression. J Depress Anxiety, 5(220), pp.2167-1044.
Lee, F.J., Stewart, M. and Brown, J.B., 2008. Stress, burnout, and strategies for reducing them: what’s the situation among Canadian family physicians?. Canadian Family Physician, 54(2), pp.234-235.
Letvak, S. and Buck, R., 2008. Factors influencing work productivity and intent to stay in nursing. Nursing, 26(3), pp.159-165.