Purpose of the Study
The work of nurses includes significant stressors, and the development of resilience helps them cope and effectively perform work duties. Leng et al. (2020) note that the issue of resilience development has attracted more attention in the United States than in China. Therefore, the study set goals to elucidate the current level of resilience among Chinese nurses, identify critical stressors that affect them, and propose strategies to increase resilience.
Type of Research &the Design
The research follows a quantitative design and is a cross-sectional survey study. Using this approach, authors can achieve their goals – to calculate the level of resilience using a questionnaire and identify the most significant stressors.
Sample
The study was conducted within one university-affiliated hospital in China and involved 2,981 of its staff. The sample was collected using the convenience method and included only registered nurses (RN) directly involved in interactions with patients and working full-time. After conducting the demographic questionnaire, participants were classified by their clinical rank. Most participants were women under 36 with less than five years of experience.
Data Collection
Nurses were invited to participate through emails and answered questions through digital platforms after completing the consent form. The study included data from a demographic questionnaire, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and the Perceived Stressors Questionnaire, which also covered questions about possible strategies for reducing their impact. Demographic data collected for the study included clinical rank, education, experience, work department, age, marital status, and gender.
Data Analysis
The authors used special software to analyze the collected data by applying several techniques. Their methods included a one-way analysis of variance, descriptive statistical analysis, and linear regression, and the p-value was less than 0.05 (Leng et al., 2020).
Limitations
The study is limited by the setting of one hospital, which can affect the results since there may be various levels of resistance and contrasting stressors in other conditions. The authors note that they did not learn the reasons for the nurses’ responses, which is also one of the study’s limitations. At the same time, the data also did not include methods to combat specific stressors.
Findings/Discussion
The authors calculated the resistance level of 61.35 ± 13.12, while the maximum result is 100, which means resistance among participants is slightly higher than average (Leng et al., 2020). These results are much lower than in similar studies in America. There is a dependence on age and experience – nurses of older age and with long experience, which are the minority, have higher rates of resilience. The questionnaire revealed many stressors, among which employees especially highlighted supervisors’ inspections. Increased workload, knowledge tests, and conflicts with patients were among the leading causes of stress.
At the same time, the interviewed nurses believe that increasing the number of benefits and reducing the load or flexible schedule will help develop resilience. They also note that more career opportunities and psychological counseling are needed, but these options do not lead the survey. The authors mention that identified stressors do not determine how to increase resistance.
Reading Research Literature
Studying the research literature helps to learn more about current problems in the professional field and their possible solutions. The application of research findings can improve practice and the services provided. Moreover, understanding such literature improves critical thinking, promoting scientific inquiry and knowledge development. The current research literature activity worksheet has helped highlight essential elements of quantitative research and learn about how such research goes. Reading also emphasizes the importance of consistency between components to make research helpful.
Reference
Leng, M., Xiu, H., Yu, P., Feng, J., Wei, Y., Cui, Y., Zhang, M., Zhou, Y., & Wei, H. (2020). Current state and influencing factors of nurse resilience and perceived job-related stressors. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 51(3), 132–137. Web.