Analyzing the Impact of Nurse Self-Esteem on Patient Recovery Rates

This case study explores the relationship between nurses' self-esteem and patient recovery, investigating factors such as workplace bullying, violence, incompetence, and communication skills. It highlights how low self-esteem in nurses, stemming from these challenges, can negatively impact patient care and prognosis. The study also addresses the effects of damaged healthcare systems, particularly in developing countries, on nurses' well-being and their ability to provide optimal care. Recommendations include fostering a supportive work environment, providing counseling for nurses, and ensuring respectful treatment from healthcare leaders. The conclusion emphasizes the pivotal role of nurses in healthcare and the importance of maintaining their mental health and self-esteem for improved patient outcomes. Desklib provides access to similar case studies and solved assignments for students.

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Self-esteem of Nurses and its Relationship with Patients Recovery
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Executive summary

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This case study will delve to analyze whether a relationship exists between the self-
esteem of a nurse and recovery from disease. The attribution of a positive prognosis from disease
or injury will be analyzed deeply within this paper. The paper will also vividly elaborate whether
there exists a positive or negative relationship between nurses with a poor self-esteem and those
with a rather better self-esteem in terms of prognosis of patients under their care.

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Introduction.
The field of nursing is inherently bound to have many cases. The cases in terms of
patient’s illness, injury or disability require one to be ready to deal with them decisively in order
to save the lives of those involved in time and without hesitation. Self-esteem of most of the
nurses is tremendously affected when they loose patients and when they are exposed to a
tremendous amount of stressors in the work area which they are unable to deal with (Du, King &
Chi 2017).
Self esteem is an individuals sense of acceptance and self-worth (Du, King & Chi 2017).
Self-esteem is fragile and has the ability to change over time with the right amount of stimulation
(Strandell 2017). Nurses with a poor self-esteem exhibit characteristics of poor acceptance of self
and fear of working on various aspects in the workplace (Edwards et al. 2010). However, nurses
who are confident of themselves and exhibit a better sense of self-esteem and self-worth have a
better sense of self and work effortlessly and fearlessly in the workplace. Such nurses will work
for longer and will not be afraid to perform the difficult or tiring tasks. As a result they will be
more productive (Dodge et al. 2012)
Bullying and its effects on self-esteem and nurse performance
Evidence of bullying among medical practitioners such as nurses is very common. Nurses
have the habit of bullying one another on the basis of experience and age in the workplace.
Bullying has the effect of increasing self-doubt and as a result drastically decreases the efficiency
and effectiveness of the care that the patient receives. Most of the time, those nurses who are
bullied will live in fear within the workplace. As a result of fear and self-doubt, compounded by
the associated effects of a depleted self-esteem, the nurses may fall into depression and other

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psychological problems that would interfere with their operating within the workplace (Bourgault
et al. 2015)
In complete contrast, nurses who are encouraged and motivated in the workplace through
monetary incentives and other forms of incentives end up producing better results. These nurses
provided medication and other forms of nursing services on time and without hesitation hence
increasing the patients prognosis tremendously. The avoidance of bullying in the workplace
especially among nurses is crucial to ensure productivity and confidence of the nurse is
maintained (Pehrson et al. 2016).
Workplace violence and its effect on nurse self-esteem and performance.
There are many cases of workplace violence throughout the professional spectrum and
nursing is not an exception. Violence in form of hate comments and physical assault have a
tremendous effect on the provision of all aspects of health care assistance. Nurses who are
harassed physically by their seniors and other fellow health care professionals have a lower self-
esteem compared to those whose who are not harassed. Violent cases such as beating or fighting
with nurses after the loss of a loved one have a very deleting effect on the self-esteem of the
nurses involved. Physical assault significantly affects the nurse’s emotional well-being and
makes him or her feel vulnerable within the health care system and its various departments (Boyle
& Wallis 2016).
Nurses who have a history of physical assault from relatives after the demise of a loved
one may not only fall into a state of low self-esteem and self doubt but also are likely to
experience depression. In addition to the emotional consequence of workplace violence, there is
also the physical consequences that are associated with workplace violence within the health care
setting. Consequences such as injury and death are very common within the health care system

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(McKenna & Boyle 2016.). All this effects play a pivotal effect on the recovery process of patients
within the health care system. Patients are less likely to receive optimum nursing care when the
nurses themselves are not within their optimum state of performance or are afraid of what might
happen to them if the patient dies (Paay et al. 2018)
Incompetence and its association with poor health provision among nurses.
Incompetence within the health care delivery system is an aspect that is not taken lightly.
For the nurse who is incompetent or has not fully understood the expectations of the institution,
it is very difficult to operate. Nurses who have not been trained to proficiency will have a very
low sense of self-worth. In cases where a nurse has his or her professional appearance damaged
due to different incidents, such as wrong administration of medication, she or he will experience
a decreased sense of self esteem. As a result, the patient under the care of these nurses will not
receive the specified level of required care (Cramer, Song & Drent 2016).
Nurses who are judged profoundly and not entrusted to control the health of the patient
on their own accord are also likely to have a lower sense of self esteem. Nurses in such a case
will feel as if they are not trusted. When seniors or supervisors do not show trust to the nurses in
this cases, it leads to a low sense of self-worth. Everyone needs to feel some sense of autonomy
and self-confidence in order to improve his or her self-esteem. Nurses who feel they have no
control over what they do experience a low sense of self-worth which is representative in the
kind of services they provide to patients.
Lack of empathy and communication skills.
The interactions within the workplace bear a significant effect on the emotional state of
the nurse in the health care system including their perception. When the nurses perceives that he

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or she is under a threat, the defense mechanism of the nurse will be activated. Nurses will
experience a lowered level of self-worth and self-esteem if they are continuously exposed to
negative environments where they are not accepted.
The communication process should allay meaning that can be understood by the receiver
of the information. In cases where nurses have lower sense of self-worth, there is a risk of giving
wrong and inconsistent information. As a result, patients end up receiving inconsistent care.
Patients may also end up dying if the information given is not timely, in cases where the nurses
is afraid of the consequences or does not believe he or she is worth being listened to.
Communication skills ,such as active listening, are immensely interfered with in cases
where nurses do not employ them in the hospital setup (O'Sullivan & Hussain 2017). Nurses with a
damaged emotional wellbeing, poor communication skills and possess lack of confidence in
themselves will not easily advocate for the patient’s rights effectively. They will be shy or afraid
because they are not able to express themselves effectively. Conclusively, patients end up
receiving poor care as a result of poor communication systems.
A damaged health care system
Some of the health care systems, especially in developing countries are damaged. They
are less likely to offer the necessary care to patients because of lack of resources. Lack of
enough resources to take care of the patients and accomplish the designated duty of care means
that the nurse will not be able to meet all the needs of the patient. Nurses may end up being
depressed and discouraged in cases where they would have prevented and imminent death from
occurring. Nurses in third world countries are more depressed compared to those in first world or
developed countries further stressing this aspect. The inability to accord patients maximum care,

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places a burden on the shoulders of the nurses who consider themselves as a pivotal point to
health care delivery systems (Kim, Kwon & Kim 2017).
Recommendations
It is highly essential that nurses are treated as human beings , that they are not discouraged as
they are the custodians to health care and that their concerns are met fully. Appropriate
counselling forums for nurses should be set up as they experience a lot of stressors that are
deplete their overall sense of self-worth. Witnessing of patients’ sufferings and deaths is not easy
and places a lot of stress on the nurse. Leaders within health care institutions should be
considerate of the nurses and address them with respect and politeness to ensure their mental
health is not interfered with in any way.
Conclusion
Nurses are the pivotal stand point of health care and their needs are essential for patient’s
survival and prognosis through the stages of death, dying and even through healing. It is essential
that all nurses are not exposed to instances that will weaken them or lead them to mental disease
and lack of self-esteem.

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References.
Bourgault, P., Lavoie, S., Paul-Savoie, E., Grégoire, M., Michaud, C., Gosselin, E. and Johnston, C.C.,
2015. Relationship between empathy and well-being among emergency nurses. Journal of Emergency
Nursing, 41(4), pp.323-328.
Boyle, M.J. and Wallis, J., 2016. Working towards a definition for workplace violence actions in the health
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Cramer, E.M., Song, H. and Drent, A.M., 2016. Social comparison on Facebook: Motivation, affective
consequences, self-esteem, and Facebook fatigue. Computers in Human Behavior, 64, pp.739-746.
Dodge, R., Daly, A.P., Huyton, J. and Sanders, L.D., 2012. The challenge of defining
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Du, H., King, R.B. and Chi, P., 2017. Self-esteem and subjective well-being revisited: The roles of
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Edwards, D., Burnard, P., Bennett, K. and Hebden, U., 2010. A longitudinal study of stress and self-
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Kim, T.I., Kwon, Y.J. and Kim, M.J., 2017. Experience and Perception of Sexual Harassment During the
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McKenna, L. and Boyle, M., 2016. Midwifery student exposure to workplace violence in clinical settings:
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Pehrson, C., Banerjee, S.C., Manna, R., Shen, M.J., Hammonds, S., Coyle, N., Krueger, C.A., Maloney,
E., Zaider, T. and Bylund, C.L., 2016. Responding empathically to patients: Development,
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Paay, J., Nielsen, H., Larsen, H. and Kjeldskov, J., 2018, September. Happy bits: interactive technologies
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Strandell, J., 2017. Self-esteem in action: From direct causality to motive and mediator of self-
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5 ways to build self esteem. http://ideas.ted.com/5-ways-to-build-lasting-self-esteem.
Why rejection hurts and what you can do about it. http://ideas.ted.com/why-rejection-hurts-so-much-and-
what-to-do-about-it

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