Comprehensive Guide to Stress Management for Diploma in Nursing

This assignment solution provides a detailed exploration of stress management strategies for nursing professionals, addressing potential organizational and environmental stressors, as well as specific hazards related to the nursing profession. It outlines methods for responding to stress, including workload management, social support, and safety precautions. The solution also discusses internal and external support options, personal areas in stress management, and strategies for dealing with stress, such as fitness techniques, problem-solving methods, and leadership training. Furthermore, it identifies key individuals to consult, strategies to improve work-life balance, and processes to review the effectiveness of stress management approaches. The assignment also covers how to access organizational options, benefits of the Fair Work Act, sources of stress and their manifestations, work planning and prioritization techniques, legal rights related to fair work, available referral services, and self-care techniques, including the impact of exercise, diet, and work-life balance.

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Diploma in Nursing
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Question 1 six potential organizational stress hazards
i. Lack of social support at work
ii. Work overload
iii. Needle injuries
iv. Understaffing
v. Time pressure
vi. Sleep deprivation
Four potential environmental stressors
i. Poor air quality
ii. Noise from patients and hospital machines
iii. The general quality of hospital wards
iv. Lightning conditions(EU-OSHA, 2015)
Question 2 Six potential stress hazards related to nursing
i. Long working hours- Long working hours is a major cause of stress in nursing
workers. This is due to the fact that, nurses are subjected to fatigue and lack of sleep
which in turn affect their sleep cycle and body activities(Nixon et al., 2015).
ii. Understaffing – understaffing causes stress to nurses since there will be an increase in
work overload and working hours.
iii. Lack of social support- This can cause stress to nurses in terms of human resource
support(Lucio et al., 2016). When nurses represent their complaints and management
fail to address, such situation can pose negative attitudes of the work thus affecting
the general mood of staff.

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iv. Needlestick injuries- this causes stress to nurses due to fear of infections and pain
incurred during injuries.
v. Dealing with seriously ill patients with complicated conditions(Lucio et al., 2018)-
seriously ill patients can induce stress to nurses due to difficulty in management,
empathy and the nature of the condition like severe burns.
vi. Interpersonal conflicts with other staff- conflicts with other nurses and doctors can
lower moods and affect the general morale of an individual
Question 3 How to respond to stress above
i. Long working hours-ensure the workload is in line with workers capability to prevent
long working hours(Nixon et al., 2015)
ii. Understaffing- Ensure the required number of staff are employed or allocated to
certain issues or procedures
iii. Lack of social support-provide opportunities for social interaction among nurses and
respond to their problems on time(Lucio et al., 2018).
iv. Needlestick injuries- practice safety precaution standards when dealing with a sharp
object and offer pain management and psychological support when injured
v. Dealing with seriously ill patients stress can be reduced by regular training of nurses
on how to manage complicated condition and collaboration with other healthcare
workers in management(Nixon et al., 2015).
vi. Interpersonal conflicts stresses can be resolved through the development of good
relationships among workers.
Question 4 Options for additional support
Internal options

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a) Use of a multidisciplinary team to reduce work overload
b) Guiding and canceling of health care workers
c) Provision of a good nursing environment
External options
a) Provision of career development of nurses
b) Involving nurses in other extracellular activities to relieve stress(EU-OSHA, 2015)
Question 5 personal areas in stress management plan
a) Physical factors like workload and patient turning
b) Stressful nature of nursing profession
c) Environmental factors like light, noise, and ventilation
d) High job demand
e) Internal factors such as self-doubt, psychological and emotional situations and stress
of conscience
f) Interpersonal conflicts with other nurses and doctors(Russell, 2016)
Question 6 personal strategies to deal with stress
i. Use of fitness and relaxation techniques
ii. Practicing self-control methods
iii. Use of planning and organizing problem-solving methods
iv. Identifying deficits and limitation that can cause stress
v. Use of mental and behavior disengagement practices
vi. Practicing effective leadership and management training
vii. Engaging in other social functions(Russell, 2016)

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Question 7people to consult
i. Management committee
ii. The representative committee
iii. Other healthcare professionals(Kenner and Pressler, 2014)
Question 8 strategies to improve work and life balance
i. Accept the things as they are and develop the coping strategies
ii. Define your purpose in life as a human being
iii. Try to live a healthier life by exercising and eating healthy
iv. Simplify your life by use of technology to communicate with patients
v. Time management by setting personal time and work time
vi. Try to resolve available conflicts immediately
vii. Develop strong relationships with family and friends
viii. Try to get enough rest(Zheng et al., 2015)
Question 9 processes to review the effectiveness of stress management strategies
i. Analyse the stress management strategies from the most effective one and evaluate
why others are not effective
ii. Evaluate the outcomes of all stress management strategies to check which outcome
has not been met(Linder, 2013)
Question 10
i. Evaluate all the coping strategies to check if they are effective after a given period of
time(Zheng et al., 2015). For instance, you can evaluate if relaxation techniques are
relieving stress and develop a change plan

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ii. Compare your coping strategies with other effective strategies used by your
colleagues(Hertel et al., 2013). For example, you can compare how other nurses deal
with interpersonal conflicts and develop a behavioral change
iii. Consult other nurses which are the most effective strategies and how they are used.
For instance, you can consult other senior staff on how they deal with complicated
conditions and strategies they use to avoid stress
iv. Develop a stress management plan(Zheng et al., 2015). A stress management plan
will make you adopt new coping strategies
v. Perform a literature search or review on better coping strategies. In a literature review,
one will be able to see which are commonly used as coping strategies and whether
they were effective or not(Zheng et al., 2015)
vi. Develop personal leadership and management skills. Leadership and management
skills help one to explore various aspects of work and determine the limitations and
deficits that can lead to work-related stress
Question 11 how to accesses options in an organization
i. Use of a multidisciplinary team to reduce work overload can be accessed
through collaborating with other healthcare providers in the management of
patients problems
ii. Guiding and canceling of health care workers can be done by referring them to
the management team which will organize for the sessions
iii. Provision of a good nursing environment can be assessed through nursing
representatives in the hospital management or by proposing an inquiry during
an open session
iv. Provision of career development of nurses can be assessed through nursing
representatives

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v. Involving nurses in other social activities to relieve stress can be assessed by
asking the top management to provide time for such occasions
Question 12 Benefits of Fair Work Act
i. Provision of annual and parental leave
ii. Extra pay in the overtime hours
iii. Provision of the right to request flexible working hours
iv. Right to personal carer and community service leave
v. Notice of termination
vi. Provision of fair work statement
Question 13 sources of stress and how they manifest
i. Complex client behaviors ( emotional, aggressive, non- compliance cognitive deficit)
– complex patients behaviors can pose a stress to nurses caring for them. Nurses
usually put themselves in the shoes of the patients in order to understand how the
patients are coping. Sometimes, the emotional difficulties of the patient and their
suffering can make nurses develop emotional feelings(Koinis et al., 2015).
Aggressive patients usually make it hard for nurses to provide care thus increasing
their burden of work(Applebaum et al., 2014). Non-compliance patients can be
stressful as they are likely to develop complications which are difficult to manage.
Sometimes mentally ill patients can be stressful through the process of management
as most of them fail to understand the need for treatment.
ii. Grief and loss experienced by workers- All nurses working in a hospital might lose a
family member or personal friends in some part of their life(Shivaprasad A H, 2013).

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As a human being, losing a family member is emotional to nurses thus it may lead to
stressful events.
iii. Exposure to stressful working conditions and incidents- Hospital can be a stressful
place(‘Stress experienced at work is affecting staff health, survey finds’, 2015). This
is because nurses always take care of people suffering from chronic and complicated
conditions that may induce psychological torture to them. Incidents like severe burns
and accidents are some of the major areas where the natures of the diseases are not
usually appealing.
Question 14 work planning and prioritization techniques
i. Time management technique- Time management strategy help one to do the most
priority things first and then the other follows in a timely manner.
ii. Resources management techniques- this helps one to first allocate resources to more
priority things(European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), 2014)
Question 15 legal rights relating to fair work act
iii. Right for the provision of annual leave
iv. Right for parental leave
v. Right for extra pay in the overtime hours
vi. Provision of the right to request flexible working hours
vii. Right to personal carer leave
viii. Right for community service leave
ix. Right to be notified the date of work termination or salary reduced
x. Right for fair work statement
Question 16 services available for referral within an organization

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i. Workplace counseling
Nurses can be referred to workplace canceling due to various reasons such as
interpersonal conflicts, communication difficulties and reporting procedures, change in
behaviors and intrapersonal conflicts(Nowrouzi et al., 2015). The major purpose of
workplace counseling is to help the individual be able to cope with problems they can no
longer cope with themselves, improve working relationships and enhance the quality of
care.
ii. Formal debriefing sessions
Formal debriefing sessions are commonly referred to new workers within an
organization to the senior manager or employer. They are intended to welcome the
worker to the organization, describe the expectations required, address any concern
and give the general information on the scope of work and the organization.
Question 17 self-care techniques
a) Impact of exercise, diet, and nutrition on physical health
Eating a balanced diet and exercising is one method of self-care technique that helps
individuals to relieve stress, have a quality life, prevent a number of possible diseases and
improve life expectancy(Linder, 2013).
b) Work/life balance strategies
Work and life balance strategies are methods used to make sure a person is able to
enjoy his or her personal life and at the same time work effectively. Such strategies
include setting a purpose in life as a human being, Trying to live a healthier life by
exercising and eating healthy , simplifying one’s life by use of technology to
communicate with patients ,time management through setting personal time and work

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time and develop strong relationships with family and friends(Saleh, Camart and
Romo, 2017).
c) Complementary and alternative health option
This involves the use of other healthy alternatives such as yoga, body exercise, intake of
complementary nutrients and practicing traditional medicines.

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References
Applebaum, D. et al. (2014) ‘The Impact of Environmental Factors on Nursing Stress, Job
Satisfaction, and Turnover Intention’, Journal of Nursing Administration, 40(0), pp. 323–328.
EU-OSHA (2015) Psychosocial Risks and Stress at Work, European Agency for Safety and
Health at Work. Available at: https://osha.europa.eu/en/topics/stress/index_html.
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) (2014) SMEs face unique
challenges when tackling workplace stress, Presseinformation. Available at:
https://www.healthy-workplaces.eu/en/news/smes-face-unique-challenges-when-tackling-
workplace-stress.
Hertel, G. et al. (2013) ‘Age differences in motivation and stress at work’, in Age-
Differentiated Work Systems, pp. 119–147. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-35057-3_6.
Kenner, C. A. and Pressler, J. L. (2014) ‘Stress within the academic workplace’, Nurse
Educator, 39(3), pp. 105–106. doi: 10.1097/NNE.0000000000000028.
Koinis, A. et al. (2015) ‘The impact of healthcare workers job environment on their mental-
emotional health. Coping strategies: the case of a local general hospital’, Health Psychology
Research, 3(1). doi: 10.4081/hpr.2015.1984.
Linder, D. (2013) ‘COOL DOWN: PREVENTING WORKPLACE HEAT STRESS.’, EHS
Today, 6(5), pp. 45–46. Available at: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=buh&AN=87615422&site=eds-live.
Lucio, L. M. C. et al. (2016) ‘Occupational hazards, DNA damage, and oxidative stress on
exposure to waste anesthetic gases’, Brazilian Journal of Anesthesiology, 68(1), pp. 33–41.
doi: 10.1016/j.bjan.2017.05.001.

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Lucio, L. M. C. et al. (2018) ‘Occupational hazards, DNA damage, and oxidative stress on
exposure to waste anesthetic gases’, Brazilian Journal of Anesthesiology (English Edition),
68(1), pp. 33–41. doi: 10.1016/j.bjane.2017.07.002.
Nixon, A. E. et al. (2015) ‘Nurse safety: How is safety climate related to affect and attitude?’,
Work and Stress, 29(4), pp. 401–419. doi: 10.1080/02678373.2015.1076536.
Nowrouzi, B. et al. (2015) ‘Work ability and work-related stress: A cross-sectional study of
obstetrical nurses in urban northeastern Ontario’, Work, 52(1), pp. 115–122. doi:
10.3233/WOR-141976.
RUSSELL, M. I. A. B. (2016) ‘Managing Personal Well-Being: An Employee Perspective.’,
Employee Benefit Plan Review, 71(3), pp. 13–14. Available at:
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Saleh, D., Camart, N. and Romo, L. (2017) ‘Predictors of stress in college students’,
Frontiers in Psychology. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00019.
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2(22), pp. 53–58.
‘Stress experienced at work is affecting staff health, survey finds’ (2015) Nursing
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Zheng, C. et al. (2015) ‘Developing individual and organisational work-life balance strategies
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