International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 Impact Factor (2012): 3.358 Volume 3 Issue 6, June 2014 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY Occupational Stress among Nurses Working At Selected Tertiary Care Hospitals Namrata Mohite 1 , Mahadeo Shinde 2 , Apeksha Gulavani 3 1 Clinical Instructor Krishna Institute of Nursing Sciences, Karad, Maharashtra, India 2 Professor, Krishna Institute of Nursing Sciences Karad, Maharashtra, India 3 Post Graduate Nurse, Sasoon Hospital Pune, Maharashtra, India Abstract: The primary aim of the study was to assess occupational stress among nurses working at tertiary care hospital. job related stress increasingly large disorder among nurses stress has a cost for individual in term of health, wellbeing and for organization in term of absenteeism and turnover which indirectly affect quality of patient care. Objectives: To assess occupational stress among nurses working in tertiary care hospitals, and to find out association between occupational stress, selected demographic variables among nurses. A study was conducted on 100 staff nurses Modified expanded nurses stress scale was used and requires 15-30 min to salve for each questionnaire. Majority 49% of nurses had reported frequent occurrence of stress, due to uncertainty of concerning treatment. Whereas maximum 48% of nurses had reported frequent occurrence of stress, due to dealing with patient and. Majority 59% due to workload as cause of stress. Inadequate emotional preparation is reported by 68%,24% and 8% of nurses as occasional, frequent and extremely occurring cause of stress respectively. Maximum 49% reported frequent occurrence, due to conflict with the doctors. 52% nurses reported frequent occurrence of stress, because of supervisors as a cause of stress. Maximum 50% nurses reported extreme occurrence of stress due to death and dying as cause of stress. 53%, nurses reported occasional, frequent and extreme occurrence of stress due to conflict with peers as a cause of stress respectively. 48% nurses reported occasional, frequent and extreme occurrence of stress due to discrimination as a cause of stress respectively. There was no significant association found between occupational stress, and age, sex, professional education, year of experience. CONCLUSION: Nurses have to face frequent occurrence of stress which could have negative impact on organizational climate in the future. Out of all considered causes of stress, workload and supervisors are two major factors responsible for frequent occurrence of stress among majority of nurses. Keywords: Occupation, Stress, Nurses, Tertiary Care, Hospital. 1. Introduction Nursing is generally perceived as demanding profession. Along with the increased demand and progress in the nursing profession, stress among the nurses has also increased. Stress is experienced when demands made on us outweigh our resources [1]. Selye’s General Adaptation Theory (Selye, 1976) described stress response as biophysiologic in nature [2]. When the person is subjected to a stressor, a characteristic syndrome of physical reactions will occur. The stress concept can also be seen as active in a holistic view of the person [15]. The stress response can be physical, psychological, emotional or spiritual in nature and is usually a combination of these dimensions. Stress, similarly, can arise from one or more dimensions and can be either internal or external [3]. A moderate level of stress or “Eustress” is an important motivating factor and is considered normal and necessary. If stress is intense, continuous, and repeated, it becomes a negative phenomenon or “Distress,” which can lead to physical illness and psychological disorders [2]. It is usually observed that nursing profession undergoes tremendous stress which affect on work performances of nurses and ultimately affects the patient care [1]. Chronic stress takes a toll when there are additional stress factors like home stress, conflict at work, inadequate staffing, poor teamwork, inadequate training, and poor supervision. Stress is known to cause emotional exhaustion in nurses and lead to negative feelings toward those in their care [4]. In U S, it is estimated that work stress costs the nation billions of dollars a year in lost productivity, health care expenses, and stress-related lawsuits [5]. Research studies on stress in nursing have identified a variety of stressors include poor working relationships between nurses and doctors and other health care professionals, demanding communication and relationships with patients and relatives, emergency cases, high workload, understaffing and lack of support or positive feedback from senior nursing staff, role conflict, home-work imbalance Stress has a cost for individuals in terms of health, well- being and job dissatisfaction, as well as for organizations in terms of absenteeism and turnover, which in turn may impact upon the quality of patient care[6],[16],[17],[18],[19]. Multinational study by WHO on migration and mobility of nurses found that inadequate working condition was main factor driving nurses’ mobility [7]. Nurses perhaps are the best friend of patients. Though they get paid for the job, the care and concern them exhibit for the patient is unparalleled and most of the time goes beyond any financial remuneration. There are instances where nurses experience high stress level that leads to negative work environments that rob nurses of their spirit and passion about their job. Consequently, unsatisfied workers might lead to burnout, where burnout associated with stress has been documented in healthcare professionals including nurses and is considered as one of the potential hazards occurring among individuals who do “people work” [4]. However, there are times when nurses find themselves in “Burnout” Paper ID: 02014409 999