Job Stress Among The Nurses Of The Emergency Department At King Fahad Specialist Hospital In Buraidah City

Abstract

Job stress describes the negative emotional and physical reactions that occur when the demands of a job do not match an employee’s abilities, resources, or needs. Job stress was found to have dangerous effects not only on nurses' health but also on their ability to cope with the demands of their work. This research aimed to assess job stress among the nurses of the emergency department at King Fahad Specialist Hospital in Buraidah City in Saudi Arabia. This cross-sectional, descriptive research was implemented in October 2021. The study recruited a convenient sample of 80 nurses that consisted of most nurses working at the emergency department of King Fahad Specialist Hospital. An electronic questionnaire, which consisted of a sociodemographic data sheet and a job stress scale, was sent to the participating nurses. The highest levels of job stress were associated with having too much work to do and working under unreasonable deadlines in the clinical setting, while the lowest levels of job stress were associated with receiving appropriate recognition or rewards for good performance. Nurses generally suffered from a moderate level of job stress (M=3.32 ± 0.567/5). In conclusion, nurses who had less than one year of experience significantly had the lowest job stress. No other significant difference was detected in the level of job stress based on the emergency nurses’ age, nationality, gender, marital status, position, or educational level. Hospitals should implement interventional programs to identify and relieve sources and consequences of stress on the emergency nurses.