Stress Should Be Treated for Emergency Room Nurses

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Stress should be treated for Emergency Room Nurses
Paula Jankowski
Oakland University

Abstract
The purpose of writing this paper is to shed some light on what the author believes is an under reported problem in the health care industry; which is untreated stress in the emergency centers personnel, this repeated stress causes; 1) poorer patient safety and satisfaction due to stress; 2) loss work days due to stress related illness; 3) higher turnover rate.
There is a need for employee stress management programs to reduce stress in the emergency centers personnel; which in turn will: 1) improve patient safety and satisfaction; 2) improve the health and wellbeing of the nursing staff; 4) cause staff retention.
While implementation will cost resources an article written by University of Maryland Medical Center reported $6000 dollar investment returns $150,000 of saving in worker compensation costs in a two year period (Stress - Risk Factors, 2011). Further reported :”In a study of 46,000 workers, health care costs were 147% higher in workers who were stressed or depressed than in others who were not” (Stress - Risk Factors, 2011p. 2). This may persuade some of the managerial budget driven skeptics.

Treatment of stress for Nurses The purpose for writing this paper is the author‘s belief that there are not sufficient de-stressors and/or mechanisms to de-stress in the nursing practice at the Emergency Center. Stress can be equated to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or more appropriately called secondary traumatic stress. “Secondary traumatic stress can be viewed as an occupational hazard for persons who provide direct patient care to traumatized victims” (Beck, 2011, p. 2). This is why the author has chosen to look at stress in nurses’ practice in the emergency center, and to explore what mechanisms

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