Credible Websites
There are various websites discussing the issue of workplace stress in nurses and suggesting ways on how to address it. However, not all of these sources are credible since they lack proper research background to provide recommendations. Therefore, it is essential to distinguish between reliable and non-reliable websites while trying to eliminate this health problem and advising patients.
One of the most trustworthy websites for nurses is Medscape (www.medscape.com). It is the largest informative medical site, the purpose of which is to provide professionals with the most recent data and evidence-based interventions. For example, the website offers research results and providers the names of authors as well as other relevant information. In their article Rashaun, Grubb, and Grosch (2013) discuss stress in nurses and approaches to reduce it. The fact that the website offers references to other studies also adds value to its reliability.
The website of the American Nurses Association (ANA) is another website that is rather significant for nurses who are interested in developing professionally and assisting patients with stress. The website provides complete information on the main activities and organization of the nursing staff and highlights the issues of psychology in the work of nurses. The experience of the best nurses in caring for patients of various profiles is presented as examples.
One should also pinpoint the Nursing Times website (www.nursingtimes.net) that focuses on helping nurses with avoiding professional burnout and providing the best care possible. For instance, the article by Ford (2014) declares the importance of detecting the early signs of stress. It is significant to identify situations that cause stress and analyze them. There are different ways to deal with stress, but often one can significantly reduce stress load, taking measures to avoid or improve the stressful situation. In addition, one can change your approach to life. For example, by reviewing standards and reducing perfectionism, it is possible to quickly solve the tasks and remove the ground for conflicts.
Suspect Websites
As a rule, suspect websites discussing stress in nurses are too broad in content and not professional enough to provide any suggestions. For example, Shoes for Crews offers the article called 7 Stress Reduction Techniques for Nurses that is well-structured and has some attractive pictures. However, it lacks the core supportive evidence that should illustrate the website’s trustworthiness.
Namely, there are no references to other researchers and no official statistics. Therefore, this website cannot be regarded as reliable. Even though some recommendations may turn out to be useful, one cannot claim that they are evidence-based.
Core Medical Group is one more website, on the pages of which one may find articles devoted to reducing nurses’ stress at the workplace. For instance, the article 8 Ways to Reduce Stress at Work for Nurses is a part of the blog run by Core Medical Group is the US-based organization working in the area of stuffing. Even though it is a public organization, there is still little evidence regarding the information presented in its blog. It is critical to emphasize that some links to such credible organizations as ANA are shown, yet the overall reliability of the website remains poor. It would be better if the organization would add more credible data and build its articles on official sources.
Personal Reflection
Personally, I consider that there are several factors to be taken into account while determining the validity of a certain website. First, one should pay attention to its name and the author. Usually, such widely-accepted organizations as ANA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), MacMillan, and so on present the most relevant websites. The second criterion refers to the content that can be evidence-based or lack thereof.
References to official statistics, previous studies, credible journals, and magazines – all this contributes to the credibility of a website devoted to nursing issues. Third, the website should directly focus on nursing. Some websites tend to be rather diverse by discussing nursing, management, and business at the same time, thus reducing their validity.
The website recommendations should be given to patients only in case a nurse personally verified the reliability of one or another source. For example, the ANA website is a good option as it can be helpful both for patients and nurses. The majority of articles are easy to read, yet some of them are presented only partially. One may also note HealthyPeople2020 (www.healthypeople.gov) initiative, outlining health goals in the nearest perspective and offering thousands of articles.
More to the point, the mentioned website shows some links to other trusted sources. Today, there are great amounts of information that is often contradictory or not always true. Therefore, it is one of the responsibilities of a nurse to check a website before recommending it to a patient. In their turn, patients should also be rather attentive to online readings they select to know more about health issues. Such a comprehensive approach to verifying the credibility of nursing websites seems to be the most appropriate decision.
References
Rashaun, R., Grubb, P., & Grosch, J. (2013). Alleviating job stress in nurses. Medscape. Web.
Ford, S. (2014). Exclusive: Stress levels at work making nurses ill, finds survey. Web.