Work-Related Stress of Registered Nurses in a Hospital Setting

In Brief This qualitative, explorative study identified work-related stressors and coping mechanisms of registered nurses (RNs) within a hospital setting. A sample of 10 RNs was interviewed about work-related stressors and observed under normal working conditions. RNs identified stress related to failure to meet patients' needs, self-expectations, workload, and inexperienced colleagues. Staff development implications include education of clinical nurses and administrators in identifying systems barriers to providing patient care, interventional staffing, stress debriefing, patient assessment, and active coping. This study identified work-related stressors and coping mechanisms of registered nurses within a hospital setting.