Do critical care nurses face burnout, PTSD, or is it something else?: getting help for the helpers.

The critical-care environment can be a stressful place to work. As a result of stress generation, critical-care nurses must use coping mechanisms not normally needed. The Adaptation Process Phenomenon describes a sequence of behavioral patterns and responses during stressful situations, perceived or not, that can result in negative behavioral responses to stress. For critical-care nurses, negative responses can impair the ability to care for patients and families. Adaptation to stress must be identified and examined as a potential illness for critical-care nurses. Is the problem burnout, post traumatic stress disorder, or something else.