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Educare

Educare

NOVIEMBRE 2008 N° 9 Volumen 6

Experience as protection from stress in nursing professionals

Section: TEACHING TO LEARN

Authors

1Raimunda Montejano Lozoya, 2Yolanda Castilla Rodríguez, 3Julia Romero Moreno, 2Josefa Luisa Rodríguez de Dios Benlloch, 2Eva Pérez Lafuente

Position

1Diplomada en Enfermería. Máster en Ciencias de la Enfermería. Enfermera en Unidad Cuidados Intensivos Neonatales (UCIN). Hospital Universitario (HU) La Fe, Valencia.2Diplomada en Enfermería. Enfermera en UCIN. Hospital Universitario (HU) La Fe, Valencia.3Diplomada en Enfermería. Licenciada en Psicología. Enfermera en UCIN. Hospital Universitario (HU) La Fe, Valencia.

Contact email: montejano_rai@gv.es

Abstract

The main objective of our study has been to determine the level of stress experienced by nursing professionals in a NICU. The specific objectives have been to learn about the most stressful situations in a specific NICU and to determine the level of stress in relation to amount of time on the job and amount of time working in the unit. To this end we have used a self-administered questionnaire, the scale of nursing work-related stressors for nursing professionals: “Nursing Stress Scale”, comprised of 34 items. We handed out the questionnaire as we explained the objectives of the study to all of the Unit’s participants.
Response percentage was 81%.The final sample included 47 nursing professionals, being the the vast majority of them women.
Overall, the level of stress of all professionals evaluated was low (38,02 out of a total score of 102). In general, the situations that led to a higher level of stress were related to aspects involving work load, such as staff shortage, a lack of time to perform all duties and the work shift. The situations that generated less stress were interpersonal relationships, although this trend changed depending on the number of years worked in the nursing unit. In general, the number of years on the job and number of years working in the NICU lowered the professional’s level of stress.

Keywords:

work-related stress; nursing staffneonatal intensive care unit (NICU)

Versión en Español

Título:

La experiencia como protección del estrés en los profesionales de Enfermería