Strategies to Prevent and Manage Stress in a Clinical Setting for Enrolled Nurses

This nursing assignment discusses the common sources of stress in a clinical setting for enrolled nurses and strategies to prevent, reduce and manage stress. It also covers internal and external options for additional support in managing personal stress in a nursing context. The article also touches on the legal rights relating to the Fair Work Act 2009 that nurses must be aware of when working in an organization. Additionally, it identifies complementary and alternative health options that a person can access for self-care.

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Nursing Assignment
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1. Identify seven (7) common sources of stress in a clinical setting when working as an
enrolled nurse.
i. Working environment i.e wrong ventilation, lighting and the inadequate
temperature levels (Gholamzadeh, Sharif, and Rad, 2011).
ii. Interpersonal relationships such as conflicts with co-workers, lack of staff
support, and lack of understanding and support from the managers (Letvak, and
Buck, 2008).
iii. Organizational factors such as increased job demands, work overload, and
reduced advancement opportunities.
iv. Individual characteristics such as inadequate working experience and education
in handling the emotional needs of patients and management which causes
anxiety within the nursing staff.
v. Strict and unreasonable deadlines
vi. Exposure to infectious diseases
vii. Role ambiguity and conflict
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2. Identify four (4) personal triggers to stress.
i. Fear and uncertainty
ii. Attitude and perceptions
iii. Unrealistic expectations
iv. Change
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3. Briefly describe four (4) strategies to prevent, reduce and manage stress.
i. Avoid unnecessary stress. One should learn to say no to some things and thus
be able to stick to the limits and exercise control of one’s environment.
ii. Alter the situation. One can brainstorm on what he/she can dot to change the
situation in order to avoid recurrence of the problem in the future. This
strategy can be achieved by freely expressing ones feelings instead of
suppressing them. One must also be willing to compromise but still be more
assertive
iii. Adapt to the stressor. If the stressor is not alterable, then the individual must
be flexible and willing to change in order to adapt to the stressful situation.
This can be accomplished by reframing the problems, looking at the big
picture, adjusting of ones standards and being optimistic.
iv. Accept the situations that can’t be altered. There are some stress sources that
are inevitable, thus demanding someone to accept things as they are in order
to cope with stress (Chiesa, and Serretti, 2009).
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4. Briefly describe two (2) internal and two (2) external options and resources for additional
support in managing personal stress in a nursing context.
Internal options for managing personal stress
i. Attitude adjustment. The way a nurse thinks will positively or negatively affect
his or her emotional and physical well-being. Thus, one should exercise in

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developing positive attitude towards issues in order to reduce and sometimes
avoid tension
ii. Manage responsibilities. This can be done by the use of a calendar or planning
app to keep track of tasks, duties, activities and other commitments (Lee, Stewart,
and Brown, 2008).
External options for managing personal stress
i. Seek services of a professional counsellor. A nurse can seek services of a
professional counsellor on personal matters that cause stress. The counsellor
guides the nurse in choosing the best and practical options of managing personal
stress.
ii. Seeking the support services of a nutritionist and gym instructor with an aim of
adopting a healthy lifestyle as a strategy of managing personal stress.
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5. How might the following complex client behaviours act as sources of stress in a health
care work environment? (in 35 – 70 words each).
a. Emotional client:
An emotional client is a source of stress because the client does not listen to and
understand any explanation. This makes it difficult for a nurse to relax and quite the
mind in order to make significant clinical decisions. In addition to the fact that nursing
work is demanding, the emotional client further makes the health care work environment
much difficult to work in.
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b. Aggressive client:
An aggressive client is a source of threat and insecurity to the nurse and the health care
environment. Such a client will make a health care worker to feel overwhelmed, fearful and
depressed thus making him or her unable to deliver quality services effectively; an aspect that
will comprise professionalism and consequently work promotion. The conduct of an
aggressive client can also provoke the emotions of a nurse making her become agitated and
moody, and this will further affect the quality of services rendered to the client and others
because of the developed stress.
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c. Client with cognitive deficit:
Client with cognitive deficit behaviors is a source of stress to the health worker
because communication is hampered between the two making it impossible for the
nurse to diagnose any illness. This becomes a sources of stress because the nurse can
no longer work effectively to deliver. Additionally, cognitive deficit behavior can
make lead to resistance to care due to misunderstanding
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d. Non-compliance with management and treatment:
Non-compliance with management and treatment can become stressful to the nurse who
cannot offer treatment and yet is legally and ethically required of him/her to

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appropriately convince and offer medication. Additionally, the refusal to treatment may
exacerbate the condition of the patient and this will affect the credibility of the nurse thus
comprising her/his career. Thus, the nurse will be worried or stressed about his/her
professionalism.
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6. How might the following potential sources of stress generally manifest in a health care
work environment? (in 35 – 70 words each).
a. Grief and loss experienced by nurses:
Nurses undergoing any form of grief and loss will detach themselves from other
staff and thus become lonely. Such nurses will also become gloomy and depressed,
and as a result they will not be active at work as normal thus affecting the quality of
their services. They also be provoked easily if pushed to go against their wishes. As
a result of depression, such nurses will also have poor memory since their mind is
not at work but thinking on the grief and loss they are undergoing.
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b. Exposure to stressful working conditions:
Stressful working conditions is a source of stress that is likely to be manifested in
the nurses through behaviors such as becoming easily agitated and gloomy.
Consequently, the nurses will appear less interested at what they are doing for they

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feel that their effort is not being appreciated and that their hard work will not
become fruitful under stressful working conditions, thus they will strive to achieve
the minimum.
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c. Stressful incidents such as unexpected death of a patient:
An unexpected death of a patient is a source of stress to the nurse and is likely to be
manifested in the form of low self-esteem and fear in handling patients with similar
conditions or other patients generally. The nurse will also appear depressed due to the
intimate relationship developed with the deceased patient. The nurse will also appear
saddened and not active in handling other patients for fear of losing another one.
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7. Identify four (4) legal rights relating to the Fair Work Act 2009 that you must be aware of
when working in an organisation.
i. The employer shall ensure a guaranteed safety, relevant and with achievable
minimum terms
ii. An employee should help employees to balance their job and family roles by
offering flexible working schedules
iii. Foster fairness and representation at work and prevention of discrimination by
respecting the rights of freedom of press, and providing accessible and practical
procedures for conflict resolution

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iv. The employer shall ensure workplace relations that are fair to workers, flexible
for businesses, foster productivity and economic development of Australia’s
economy
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8. Briefly describe the impact of self-care strategies such as exercise, appropriate diet and
nutrition on the physical health of a person (in 50 – 80 words).
Exercise regulates weight because physical activity helps to burn calories thus helps to
too much fat in the body which can lead to lifestyle diseases. Exercise also helps to
prevent high blood pressure because being active improves high-density lipoprotein
(Chaput et al., 2010).
An appropriate diet helps to reduce anxiety and depression. Studies show that a healthy
alteration of dietary trends under the guidance of a nutritionist can assist in minimizing
mood disorders (Khan, and Khan, 2016).
Healthy nutrition is the most significant aspect leading to a healthy lifestyle. Good
nutrition ensures stability in weight, lower risk chronic diseases and foster overall health
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9. Identify five (5) complementary and alternative health options a person can access for self-
care.
i. Traditional medicines

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ii. Massage
iii. Meditation
iv. Naturopathy
v. aromatherapy
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References
Chaput, J.P., Klingenberg, L., Rosenkilde, M., Gilbert, J.A., Tremblay, A. and Sjödin, A.,
2010. Physical activity plays an important role in body weight regulation. Journal of
obesity, 2011.
Chiesa, A. and Serretti, A., 2009. Mindfulness-based stress reduction for stress management
in healthy people: a review and meta-analysis. The journal of alternative and complementary
medicine, 15(5), pp.593-600.
Gholamzadeh, S., Sharif, F. and Rad, F.D., 2011. Sources of occupational stress and coping
strategies among nurses who work in Admission and Emergency Departments of Hospitals
related to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery
research, 16(1), p.41.
Khan, S. and Khan, R.A., 2016. Healthy Diet a Tool to Reduce Anxiety and Depression. J
Depress Anxiety, 5(220), pp.2167-1044.
Lee, F.J., Stewart, M. and Brown, J.B., 2008. Stress, burnout, and strategies for reducing
them: what’s the situation among Canadian family physicians?. Canadian Family
Physician, 54(2), pp.234-235.
Letvak, S. and Buck, R., 2008. Factors influencing work productivity and intent to stay in
nursing. Nursing, 26(3), pp.159-165.