Nurse Managers Stress and Coping

Achiharu Miyata,Hidenori Arai,Sawako Suga

doi:10.4236/ojn.2015.511101

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to gain insight into nurse managers’ stress experiences and coping strategies in order to better support them. Design: A qualitative exploratory descriptive research design was used in this study. Subject: Fifteen nurse managers participated in this study. Results: Three descriptive themes related to nurse managers’ occupational stress were identified: role overload, loneliness, and role conflict. We also identified three descriptive themes that contributed to their stress management: sufficient support and advice, taking mental breaks while off duty, and individual coping strategies. Conclusions: Our study proposes two recommendations to reduce nurse managers’ stress. First, for nurse managers who experience work overload, hospitals should support them in learning how to work efficiently and how to manage their response to work demands. Second, nurse managers’ primary stressors were loneliness and role conflict. Nurse managers are known to juggle multiple demands from the hospital nursing director and staff nurses. Although it is difficult to eliminate the role conflict, nurse managers should be guided on how to manage conflicting demands, the hospital nursing director and staff nurses.

Highlights

Over the last decade, management in nursing has become increasingly demanding [1]
Shirey [2] reviewed the expansion of the nurse manager role from 1980 to 2003 and found increased demands on nurse managers, which led to increased job stress
The nurse manager role has expanded over the years, mostly reflected in their greater responsibility for their staffs

Summary

Introduction

Management in nursing has become increasingly demanding [1]. Nurse managers’ roles have undergone a significant change as they take on more administrative management, and they have much broader responsibilities for direct patient care, managing staff nurses, leadership, and organizational resource management. Another study found that nurse managers have a significant impact on the health of their staff [4], and nurse managers’ stress has been shown to be related to staff nurses’ decreased satisfaction [5]. A number of studies [6] [7] have shown that nurse managers can be vulnerable and at the risk of ill health and decreased psychological well-being. The aim of this study was to address nurse managers’ stress and coping strategies, and two research questions were developed based on this aim

Methods

Results

Conclusion