Perceived Job Stress in Critical Care Nursing in a Military Setting

The purposes of this study. were: to explore job-related perceptions of stress in a group of military critical care nurses; and to determine if differences in anxiety and stress levels existed between nurses working in coronary care (CCCU) and medical/surgical intensive care (ICU) settings using the State/Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Questionnaire of Stressful Factors in Intensive Care. A free response question and a force-response checklist were also used to identify and rank work-related stressors. The sample of Navy nurses (n=105) consisted of 39 CCU nurses, 62 medical/surgical ICU nurses and 4 critical care supervisors. The results of the mailed survey revealed no significant differences between CCU and medical/surgical ICU nurse groups. Management of the unit, in particular inadequate numbers of staff, was identified as the number one source of stress by both the ICU and CCU nurses, while critical care supervisors ranked patient care activities as the number one source of stress. Nursing implications and stress management strategies were discussed and recommendations for instrument revision and future research were suggested