Perceived Stress in Nurses: A Comparative Study

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to assess the perceived stress in nurses working in various departments including mental health and psychiatric nurses in Jordan and compare the all together.

METHODS: Using a non-random convenience sample, 310 nurses working in various departments in Jordan representing five different hospitals were included. Nurses answered the Arabic Version of Perceived Stress Scale 10-Items Questionnaire (PSS10) and a Characteristic Checklist.

RESULTS: This study showed that nurses working in psychiatric departments perceived the highest stress levels followed by oncology nurses (ONs), ICU/CCU, and ER nurses respectively. Medical and surgical nurses reported the lowest level of stress.

CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that psychiatric nurses have the highest levels of stress among all participated nurses. This might lead to dissatisfaction with the work and high rates of burn out and turn over. All these factors can easily affect patients care and safety issue, especially psychiatric patients. It is highly recommended that nurse managers and policy makers pay a particular attention to this phenomenon and looking for causes of such high level of stress is important.