Stress and “Riding the Emotional Roller Coaster”, Case Study Example

In Case Study 4.2, the reader is introduced to some individuals who must deal with various types of stress on a daily basis–Louise Damiani, an oncology nurse, Lisa Salvatore, a charge nurse at a burn center, and Anil Shandil, a US Army medic serving in an Army hospital in Germany. As described in our textbook Organizational Behavior, stress occurs because of stressors which generally can be found in environmental conditions (i.e., the workplace, at home, etc.) that “place a physical or emotional demand on a person” (McShane & Von Glinow, 2013, p. 116), such as having to meet a deadline or arriving at an important appointment on time. In the workplace, some of the most widespread stressors includes harassment and incivility, work overload, and low task control or not being in control in relation to performing a task or job at work, such as running a machine that cranks out parts faster than the operator can handle it.

For Damiani, Salvatore, and Shandil, all of whom work in the health care profession as nurses and specialists, it is obvious to me that stress is created by interacting with their patients, such as having to tell a patient that she is dying from cancer, or telling a family member that a loved one will not recover from being burned, or informing a soldier that he will have to live the rest of his life without the ability to walk. Also, it is obvious that a great amount of stress is created by knowing that a patient is dying and not being able to do anything about it. A prime example comes from Lisa Salvatore who mentions that she experiences a lot of stress related to dealing with children with severe burns. “I deal with it,” she says while on the job “and then I cry all the way home. I just sob on my way driving home” (McShane & Von Glinow, 2013, p. 123).

Certainly, people like Damiani, Salvatore, and Shandil have experienced various and different levels of stress in their jobs as health care providers and having to deal with patients that are emotionally and physically damaged because of their illnesses and conditions. These

three people are also well-versed in Hans Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome which is composed of three basic elements. First, the individual has an alarm reaction, such as seeing a child burned over 90% of his/her body, and which lowers a person’s ability to cope with such a traumatic sight. Second, the individual experiences resistance via the activation of “various biochemical, psychological, and behavioral mechanisms that give the individual more energy and engage coping mechanisms” (McShane & Von Glinow, 2013, p. 123) in order to overcome the source of the stress. And third, the individual experiences exhaustion or a sense of powerlessness over a specific situation, such as with Shandil who grows tired and weary of seeing young men with their arms and legs blown off. As a result of this syndrome, most individuals become over-stressed and experience post traumatic stress disorder which affects the person both emotionally and physically.

Damiani, Salvatore, and Shandil are also quite experienced when it comes to minimizing stressors. The most efficient means is to simply withdraw from the source of the stress. For example, Damiani goes home after her shift at the hospital; Salvatore and Shandil does the  same thing. This is really the only way that these three people can lower the stressors in their workplace lives since eliminating the stressors is not possible unless they opt to begin anew in a different career with less stress. Damiani appears to have the best solution to the stressors that she faces in the hospital as an oncology nurse. What she does is create positive emotions in her patients by creating different perceptions. For instance, she excels at knowing the needs and desires of her patients and uses this as an advantage to help lower her own stress and that of her patients.

Overall, Damiani, Salvatore, and Shandil are masters at controlling stress consequences by turning stressors into positive entities. Perhaps Shandil has the best answer–face the stressors and defeat them by volunteering for more stressful work. Certainly, the human mind can adapt to almost any kind of environment by making it a common occurrence rather than something that must be faced with great dread.

References

McShane, S.L., and Von Glinow, M.A. (2013). Organizational behavior. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin Publishers.