Occupational stress in general nurses and midwives.

The most common source of nurse stress is pressure of workload/time. The general level of stress as perceived by nurses is moderate or mild rather than very or extremely stressful. There is little difference in stress level between general nurses and midwives, although general nurses rated the factors of management, relationships and facilities more highly as stressors. Most nurses find their job satisfying. In terms of career commitment, older nurses thought it likely that they would choose nursing again, while younger ones were evenly divided, although they were less likely than the older nurses to choose nursing again. Nurses tend to have a high opinion of their professional effectiveness.