Introduction
Stress is the second most ubiquitous health predicament after backache. Work-related strain contributes to reduced job performance in the nursing profession. These may be as a result of less self-sufficiency and failure to deal with time constraints. A work-related strain occurs under various circumstances, but it is more of a distress when a person cannot manage the strain that comes with his work.
Workload stress
Recently I have been experiencing emotional exhaustion as a result of workload stress. I work in a healthcare establishment that provides services to patients with various fitness conditions. Lately, the institution has been registering an increased number of patients. As a result, this has led to an increase in working hours.
This has greatly affected the eminence of patient care since on many occasions the patient receives derisory medication or remains unattended. Moreover, I am always in a hurry to complete my work as I always have more patients to attend to. On most occasions, I end up working at home as I am unable to meet my deadlines while at work. The jobs I carry home include the patients’ care records, especially those patients who need personalized care. Most importantly, these patients require intensive care, which must be, administered after inclusive review of such care records. While at work, I hardly ever have the time to go through these records; thus I do so while at home.
The hospital administration has come up strongly to try and resolve this predicament. Thus, a number of advice-giving sessions have been held to urge the staff to be patient as the problem would be aptly addressed. The administration has also embarked on a conscription drive for nurses so as to ease the demands on the obtainable manpower. Most importantly, the nurses have designed a timetable for assisting each other in situations where one is overwhelmed with work. As a result, this has worked well in alleviating stress at work.
The US section of employment has enacted legislation that defends workers from use at work (Huber, 2006). Furthermore, employers are required to provide a superior working situation for the workers; this must be a stress-free environment. Thus, in cases of infringement of these working place requirements, the workers through their individual unions can sue the employers.
There has been amplification in sadistic incidents, in the clinic and hospital setting. These incidents mainly involve nurses. Furthermore, Workload stress results in unsettled tension, which might lead to verbal abuses at the workplace. This can be between nurses and patients or amongst the nursing staff.
Recruitment of more staff
The best way to get rid of this workload stress is to appoint more nurses, as they will fill the various positions multi-tasked by the existing nurses. This will be achieved in congruence with the management (Rice, 2000).
Designation of duties
Workload stress can also be eliminated by deployment; whereby some nurses working in sections that are not overwhelmed with patients are deployed to those departments with amplified shortages. This will also be achieved in consultation with the administration.
Rotation of shifts
In departments with increased patients, the nurses are rotated in shifts, whereby if a nurse worked in the department for a week, it is only apt that he or she works in another department that is not overwhelmed in subsequent weeks (Rice, 2000).
Conclusion
Stress at the employment place reduces the competence of the employee; thus, it is prudent to execute measures that will keep the employees free from stress. In the nursing workplace, stress results in deprived service delivery, and this might affect the fitness of the patient. Most importantly, workload stress should be managed by the hospital administration.
References
Huber, D. (2006). Leadership and nursing care management (3rd edition). Pennsylvania, PA: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Rice, V. (2000). Handbook of stress, coping, and health: implications for nursing research, theory, and practice. California, CA: SAGE.