Clinical Setting and Role
Anastasia is an Advanced Practice Nurse who performs her duties in the hospital’s emergency department. In her daily work, she must critically assess the condition of patients entering the setting. In addition, she needs to guide junior nurses on treating patients in clinical conditions and make driving decisions. To perform this, Anastasia must consult with physicians, as the health and well-being of patients are also within her responsibility. Finally, she experiences a high workload and a significant influx of patients during peak hours.
Three Signs and Symptoms of Role Strain and Stress
Due to her busy work schedule and constant flow of patients, Anastasia has recently been experiencing persistent fatigue. Even though her shift schedule allows for average sleep, she often works overtime because she struggles to keep up with administrative duties during her working hours. The work overload affected her physical well-being, causing headaches and low energy. In addition, Anastasia is also experiencing emotional exhaustion, which is further aggravated by her unsatisfactory physical condition.
Recently, she noticed that she became easily irritated and emotionally detached when communicating with patients. Finally, the above-described aspects affected the decrease in job satisfaction. While Anastasia has always taken great pride in her work and was driven by a sense of helping others, she now questions the need for further professional development. Due to the constant workload, she feels undervalued, as paperwork consumes a significant amount of time that could be devoted to professional duties.
Solutions to Reduce Role Strain and Stress
To improve her physical and emotional well-being, Anastasia needs to prioritize self-care. The best option is to plan a vacation if the quantitative composition of the staff enables such a temporary absence. Sufficient rest can positively affect the general state of well-being, addressing, in particular, physical fatigue.
Furthermore, relaxation techniques or yoga can help reduce physical and emotional stress (Zhang et al., 2021). Moreover, time management and delegation of responsibilities at work will help minimize workload while increasing productivity. Finally, if certain job aspects require fundamental changes, it is worth contacting management with a request to modify the schedule or staff composition.
References
Zhang, M., Murphy, B., Cabanilla, A., & Yidi, C. (2021). Physical relaxation for occupational stress in healthcare workers: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Occupational Health, 63(1).