PLEASE HELP!!! I NEED HELP FROM ER/ICU nurses and doctors for my THESIS PROJECT!!!

Please comment on the following questions:

Here you go...

1) Do you think the ICU/ER nurses or doctors are under higher stress? Why? (feel free to give any comment questions or advices that can change

the nature of the ICU/ER to make it less stressful)

I think there is stress but there are also many opportunities that are very rewarding, as with any job in nursing. There is acute stress, when the situation is life-threatening. Concurrently, most of us who work in ICU thrive in stressful situations and love running codes. Not for the patient's sake of course but because we thrive on the adreneline rush! Things that really make my unit less stressful are that we all really do work together and have one another's backs. Teamwork makes everything better!

2) Do you think nurses/doctors working in ER faces higher stress or nurses/doctors working in ICU faces higher stress? Why? No, I don't think so.

Plz answer the following questions if you're working in ER/ICU:

3) Are you currently experiencing psychological stress disorders?(ex. burned out, anxiety, depression, etc.) If so, how would you relieve psychological stress? Did you find it helpful? No burnout or stress here.

4) How stressful would you rate your job? 1-severe 5- mild (plz state which department you're working in) 3 Coronary Care ICU

5) Which part of your job triggers psychological stress disorder? (ex. atomsphere of your working environment) patient's families are contributors of greatest stress

6) If nurses/doctors are experiencing psychological stress disorders do you believe it affects the care of the patient, if yes in what way?

7) If nurses are experiencing psychological stress disorders do you believe it affects their personal lives, if yes in what way?

8) Do you think employers provide education/support/coping strategies for their staff on the issue of psychological stress disorders? If yes, is it working, why or why not?

9) Do you think hospitals should have a support system in place for staff who is feeling the stress of their jobs? Yes, coworkers, social workers, chaplins.

10) Which of the following do you think can effectively decrease the issues of psychological disorder among ICU/ER nurses and/ physicians:

a) by changing the atomsphere of your working environment (ex.having a more relaxing working environment)

b) by having stress relief programs/activities, such as yoga, spa

c) by having some lounging/resting/sleeping area

d) by having a game room

e) all of the above

e) Others (none of the above) - Plz specify

All of the above

Us? Who is 'us'?

Each area of nursing brings its own level of stress....ICU is full-on acute but controlled in terms of numbers....ER is not all acute but the patients just keep coming. I don't like tubed unconscious patients so I don't enjoy the work of ICU....I love ER and all that it brings.

Just my .2 cents

Liz

Depends on your comfort level. The machines and monitors in ICU scare me to death, but I'll take the body in pieces without blinking twice. I know ICU nurses that would not come to the ER if they had any choice.

Every unit has its own demands. ICU is intentsive (no pun intended!) ER can be crazy. But Geriatrics can be equally stressing, dealing with confused, combative people. I know of ER nurses who say they could never do what I do.

i think both er and icu are stressful in their own ways.er gets all kinds of patients.they try to stabilize critically ill patients and these patients go to icu for a more intensive care/treatment.before when i was to be assigned in my 1st hospital in the us, i prefer icu but i was put in er.now i can say, i can work in er but not in icu.ironic,isn't it?

LOL! I think med surge ortho is stressful! And I worked in ER! LOL!!!!!!

Heck...okay scenero....6 pts all yours! Number on is a hip fx total ORIF who is on lasix for cardiac issues...has to pee every 30 minutes or has accidents and the MD was sweet enough NOT to order a foley and won't! They are confused and getting out of bed to go to the bathroom on their own, and wow...fun stuff! (Ummmm how about pain being self limiting...not on elderly when they have to 'go'!!!!!!! Shocks me to this day!).

Pt two...meth addicted pt with a back injury from work that doesn't respond to pain meds well...is a smoker with an MD who has the thought process of suffer with it...has three friends in their room convincing the pt that they are being dissed because of stereotypes and are as demanding as all heck for constant anythings! oops...they just left the floor with their friend for a smoke (or worse..they light up in the bathroom setting off the sprinklers!!!!!!!). You have to call security, and they act like it is YOUR fault! Nice!

Pt three...Post total knee doing fine till they sleep and all the sudden out of the blue go 70% on pulse ox and grey as all get go...family says nothing and you find this out by suprise! Oh fun...code blue folks...

Meanwhile pt two is actually back from their extended smoke break and bypasses security to their room and is screaming at a CNA for pain meds, pt one is on the call light because no one was there on time and she has wet the bed...and they keep pressing the call light because they have no concept of time...management is yelling at you because you are getting a new ER admit...and someone from Admin is calling to ask you if you want to work overtime!

Oh may I continue???? Oh yes, can't forget the fresh post op and ER admit that take 1-2 hours of admitting paperwork and demanding family asking what they always do "when can they eat???" UHGGGGG! Oh wow...oh yeah that charting thing...guess I am going to get some overtime again and get screamed at by Admin?!?!?!? oh yeah..did I mention FAMILY being there at every move and asking questions! UHGGGGGGGGGG!

I am sorry...I would rather be in the Er where you have some support (some do..not all...then I am sorry but you chose a job in self mascocism! LOL!), doing the stablization, and sending them off to ....well...me! LOL!

Thank GOD I worked ER..it actually trained me for this job! LOL!!!!!! (all are important and stressful to heck...just different..I would much rather do a code or start IV's or deal with actual screaming then being belittled by three pts at a time for either not being able to poop, peeing too much, room temp, bad food, pain upon waking them out of a sound sleep and 30 seconds later back to sleep!..and charge nurses reminding me of what I forgot to sign! LOL!).

Ahhhhhhhhh patients on the floor and on the mend...can I have a few unconscious ones? LOL!!!!!!!!!!

TazziRN -- you took the words right out of my moutj! I have worked in just about every specialty in the hospital, and I could not agree more. My favorite unit has alays been the ER, It doesn't matter if it's big city ER or a small rural ER, I love it!! I'm glad I'm not the only one who enjoys it. And my hubbie is also an RN and ER is his favorite too!

Anne

Every area of nursing is stressful in it's own way. I work in a very busy level one trauma center ED and although we do get alot of clinic stuff, we get just about every trauma/stroke/MI in the tri-state area because we are in a very royal area. The last day I was at work, we had a total 0f 42 patients in our 34 bed ED. The extra eight were laying in the hall. Waiting room was standing room only. We had to put a body in our locker room so that we could make room for another trauma that was comming. This is still bothering me. out of the 42 patients 11 were intubated and we had 4 nurses working not including charge.

As I was taking my AAA up to CCU, some floor nurses were also taking one of their coding patients up and the staff was throwing a fit. The charge nurse told me that I would have to take my AAA back down to the ED because they cannot have two patients being admitted at the same time. I just looked at her and first asked her if she was serious, and then politely told her that the only thing I am going back downstairs with is my monitor and gourney.

I don't think it is an issue of which depatment is more stressfull, I think it's an issue of how one handles stress. Stress on the floors is having triple antibiotics to hang, a blood transfusion running, and a patient with Sats of 80%, and a new admit comming in. Stress in the ED is having 3 helicoptors flying around your roof and no where to put the patients, because you can't get you other patients upstairs. The stress is the ED stems more from having a load of critical patients that you cannot get upstairs, and seeing children die not expectantly but traumaticaly. It's upsetting when you have 5 vented patients all to yourself and then you take them up one at a time to the ICU where that nurse is only going to have 1 other patient besides the one you just brought and complains that you did not give her bowel sounds in report. Then to go back downstairs thinking thank god I just got rid of one of my tubed ones, hopefully I can get the others upstairs soon, just to find another tubed patient laying in the bed replacing the one that you just took up.

I work ED because I love it. I do believe it is one of the most underappreciated specialties in nursing though. I don't really care to have respect or appreciation from other nurses in the hospital, because they don't do and see what I do. It's the patients that come in and you litrerally save their lives and they don't remember you. They remember the ICU and floor nurses, because they were there for so long. I have yet to have one patient come back and tell me thanks. I think that is the most frustrating part of my job.