Stress in the workplace

Nurses are experiencing more problems with downsizing, elimination of services, and staff restructuring, due to shift in health care delivery systems. This causes high stress levels, which results in burnout, absenteeism, and anger. Nurses need to use adequate coping mechanisms to deal with this stress. They also must deal with reactions from patients and their own grief reactions. While most nurses may have effective problem solving methods that help them deal with this stress, it is important to have optimal communication and interactions with colleagues in order to develop an emotional support system for each other to deal with stress.