Mental Stress in the Nursing Occupation

Running head: MENTAL STRESS IN THE NURSING OCCUPATION 1
Mental Stress in the Nursing Occupation
Student name
Professor’s name
Unit title
Institution

Running head: MENTAL STRESS IN THE NURSING OCCUPATION 2
Executive summary
Work-related stress is now becoming common in the nursing field resulting from the
duties and environment surrounding nurses. The following report offers an analysis of mental
stress in the nursing occupation looking at its causes, risks and control measures. It includes a
wellness program that can be implemented to improve the mental health of the health care
providers and also ways of measuring its success. An appropriate wellness program will function
to minimize mental stress within the nursing occupation resulting in improved performance in
health services.

Running head: MENTAL STRESS IN THE NURSING OCCUPATION 3
Contents
Introduction...............................................................................................................................................4
Characteristics of nursing that lead to occupational stress................................................................4
Risks associated with mental stress in nursing....................................................................................6
Occupational Health Program..............................................................................................................8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................................9
References.................................................................................................................................................11

Running head: MENTAL STRESS IN THE NURSING OCCUPATION 4
Introduction
A fulfilling and challenging job in a good work environment is of benefit, however if the
work begins to take over it leads to employees losing their balance and developing mental stress.
The capacity of employees to have some control over their workload largely complements to the
impact work has on their life. The demands of work naturally result in stress response. It can be
an advantage in short bursts assisting one in staying alert and performing their best. However,
excessive job stress is damaging to mental health leading to mental illnesses.
Nursing is among the occupations found to lead in employees developing mental illnesses
arising from work-related causes. The following report highlights an analysis of work related
mental stress within the nursing occupation. It presents the risks of the occupation that expose
these workforce to mental stress and the control measures applicable to regulate them. By
identifying the features of the workplace and the risks within it, an occupational health program
is developed that will assist to address the issue.
Characteristics of nursing that lead to occupational stress
Workplace aspects that have been discovered to be linked with stress and health risks can
be grouped into those linked with the work content and the ones linked with the organizational
and social context of work. The nursing field has many elements that can trigger mental stress
among the employees. Several factors leading to work related stress are particularly unique to the
job (Government of Canada, 2019). One is the long working hours that nurse providers usually
serve. The nature of nursing in many instances forces the nurses to extend their working hours
and also work during odd hours like night shifts, these result in the nurses developing stress
related situations. Also, the nursing occupation increases the stress levels of the nurses as it