What happens to the nurse when role stress or strain becomes too overwhelming? What happens to patient care? How is this related to possible ethic and legal issues? Discuss how nurses can manage or reduce role stress and role strain Impacts on Nurses. In their recent study, Moustaka and Constantinidis (2014), argue that although empirical research has established the critical role played by stress in improving quality of life and levels of performance, excessive role strain is harmful. Although role stress remains an essential aspect of a nurse’s daily experiences, it tends to lose its beneficial effect when it becomes overwhelming. In particular, extreme role stress has far-reaching negative impacts on the nurse; given it denies them the ability necessary for accomplishing a broad range of tasks, meaning they become inefficient, inadequate, and unproductive. A stressed or strained nurse is more likely to become apathetic, lack concentration, make uncharacteristic errors and poor decisions, and feel anxious and demotivated. According to Paul III et al. (2018), stress among nurses remains inextricably linked to reduced concern for colleagues, as well as the organization. Typically, a less-concerned caregiver often demonstrates decreased performance capacity and increased absenteeism. The researchers further established that nurses experiencing or encountering ongoing stress often eat poorly and engage in drug and drug misuse and abuse. In essence, role stress plays a leading role in changing nurse behaviors, which, in turn, exacerbate poor health conditions. Accordingly, role strain or stress results not only in job dissatisfaction among nurses but also contribute to increased turnover rate witnessed in a variety of hospitals and associated health facilities worldwide. Patient care. Recent studies have supported previous research, which revealed a negative relation between role stress or role strain and desired patient or health care outcomes. In their study, for instance, Kanste, Kyngäs, and Nikkilä (2007) and Ho al. (2009) found that nurse stress is associated with higher infection rates, poor patient care, increased medical errors, higher mortality and morbidity rates, as well as high-level patient dissatisfaction. As stated earlier, a stressed nurse is more likely to make a broad range of uncharacteristic errors, which result from being less concerned about patient safety and treatment objectives. Stress or strain management. Researchers and other responsible stakeholders in nursing have so far proposed a variety of stress and strain management strategies for individual nurses. Van Bogaert et al. (2009) advise nurses to consider talking about their workplace stressors.
Order this paper