Withstanding the Pressure of the Profession, Article Review Example

Nursing is an extremely demanding and stressful profession.  Although many individuals go through extensive training in order to become a nurse, many unfortunately burn-out after a short period of time due to a variety of factors. In my mind, there are two main questions related to this phenomenon: 1) What are the stressors related to nursing? 2) How can they be dealt with in a more successful way?    Nurses encounter a number of devastating stressors on a daily basis including: coworker stress, ethical concerns, a hierarchical and sometimes uncompromising professional structure, and the ever present fear of death around them.  In addition, nurses that work grueling hours are exposed to insensitive and sometimes abusive patients.

As a result of these stressors, nurses experience a variety of clinical events, some over the long-term: insomnia, burnout, depression, and even suicidal tendencies. The combination of these effects also has a detrimental effect on the type of health care delivered to patients. Indeed, stress and medical conditions related to the profession have been found to be the cause of many medical errors in hospitals, even those resulting in death. The never ending torrent of stress, if not dealt with properly, also has the effect of impairing vital relationships in the hospital that may result in sub-optimal medical outcomes.

Although hospitals and other medical organizations are currently looking at ways to reduce stress levels for nurses, it is clear that such initiatives will take extensive work and time to be successful. In the meantime, the article advocates that nurses should be proactive in taking care of their own needs: there are a number of activities and exercises that nurses can perform on a daily basis, such as being with a pet or spending time reading a book, in order to deal with the stress.