Beate André1, Sigrun A Frigstad1, Torunn H Nøst2, Endre Sjøvold3. 1. Faculty of Nursing, Sør-Trøndelag University College, Trondheim, Norway. 2. Department of Surgery St Olav's Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway. 3. Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management, Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU, Trondheim, Norway.
Abstract
AIM: To explore the factors that characterise the work environment, focusing on communication among nurses in stressful and non-stressful situations. BACKGROUND: Nursing is often described as a stressful occupation. Implementation of change may be an additional stress factor. METHODS: Nurses and assistant nurses completed a questionnaire from two different perspectives, 'communication in non-stressful situations' and 'communication under stress'. The Systematising Person-Group Relations method was used to gather and analyse the data. RESULTS: When the two perspectives, 'communication in non-stressful situations' and 'communication under stress', were compared, there were significant differences in 8 of the 12 factors. The stressful situations were characterised by low values in task orientation, caring, criticism, loyalty, acceptance, engagement and empathy; only the factor creativity had higher scores. CONCLUSION: The stressful situations were characterised by creative and spontaneous behaviour, not by task orientation and engagement, indicating a potential patient safety risk. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSE MANAGEMENT: There is a need to help health-care workers develop more mature analytical and task-oriented behaviours related to both independent work and collaboration in stressful situations. Nursing leadership and organisation must focus on healthy work environments to promote engaged communication in stressful situations, ultimately increasing patient safety.
AIM: To explore the factors that characterise the work environment, focusing on communication among nurses in stressful and non-stressful situations. BACKGROUND: Nursing is often described as a stressful occupation. Implementation of change may be an additional stress factor. METHODS: Nurses and assistant nurses completed a questionnaire from two different perspectives, 'communication in non-stressful situations' and 'communication under stress'. The Systematising Person-Group Relations method was used to gather and analyse the data. RESULTS: When the two perspectives, 'communication in non-stressful situations' and 'communication under stress', were compared, there were significant differences in 8 of the 12 factors. The stressful situations were characterised by low values in task orientation, caring, criticism, loyalty, acceptance, engagement and empathy; only the factor creativity had higher scores. CONCLUSION: The stressful situations were characterised by creative and spontaneous behaviour, not by task orientation and engagement, indicating a potential patient safety risk. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSE MANAGEMENT: There is a need to help health-care workers develop more mature analytical and task-oriented behaviours related to both independent work and collaboration in stressful situations. Nursing leadership and organisation must focus on healthy work environments to promote engaged communication in stressful situations, ultimately increasing patient safety.
Authors: Markus Willing; Christian Dresen; Eva Gerlitz; Maximilian Haering; Matthew Smith; Carmen Binnewies; Tim Guess; Uwe Haverkamp; Sebastian Schinzel Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2021-09-29 Impact factor: 4.379