Stress Management “Awareness Practices” and Self-Care Tips

Purpose: To integrate advanced nursing knowledge on how to prevent and treat job stress for nurses by analyzing, developing, implementing, and evaluating an education program on awareness and prevention related to job stress.

Methods: Conducted a literature search on how to prevent and treat job stress for nurses. Analyzed the educational needs of staff nurses relating to job stress by developing and administering a needs assessment survey using an instrument such as the Likert scale, and narrative response. This assessed nurses’ current stress levels and knowledge regarding preventive measures on how to relieve stress at work.

Target population: Westchester Jewish Community Services, NY; 8 staff nurses completed the needs assessment and confirmed there was an educational need on how to relieve stress at work. Developed and implemented an awareness and prevention educational program on job stress for staff nurses.

A postassessment questionnaire was developed for the staff nurses to complete at the end of the program using quantitative and qualitative methods. Data were analyzed and evaluated regarding the effectiveness of the practicum project implemented. Eight nurses strongly agreed they are more aware of how to prevent and treat job-related stress, and 2 nurses agreed. Also, in another important finding, 4 nurses strongly agreed the presentation motivated them to take action; 5 agreed, and only 1 nurse remained neutral. Hence, not only did my research prove nurses are stressed but also that they need to learn preventive measures on how to prevent or reduce stress at work. Furthermore, research has proved how nurses should strive for optimal health, as stress not only has a negative effect on the nurse but also on those to whom they provide care.

Conclusion: I developed a 1.0 hour accredited Continuing Nursing Education class, “Coping with Stress in the Workplace: Self-Care Tips,” approved through the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN). American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation accredits AAOHN as an approver of continuing nursing education.