Workplace Stressors and Coping Strategies Among Public Hospital Nurses in Medan, Indonesia

Background: Nursing is considered as a stressful job when compared with other jobs. Prolonged stress without effective coping strategies affects not only nurses\u27 occupational life but also their nursing competencies. Medan is the biggest city in Sumatera Island of Indonesia. Two tertiary public hospital nurses in this city hold the responsibility in providing excellent care to their patients. Objective: To investigate the relationships between the nurse\u27s workplace stressors and the coping strategies used. Method: The descriptive correlational study was conducted to examine the relationships between workplace stressors and the coping strategies used in nurses of two public hospitals in Medan. The sample size of 126 nurses was drawn from selected in-patient units. Data were collected by using self-report questionnaires and focus group interview. The majority of subjects experienced low workplace stressors, where death/dying was the most commonly reported workplace stressor followed by workload. Religion was the most commonly used coping strategy. Result: Significant correlations were found between subscales of workplace stressors and coping strategies. Most of subjects used emotion-focused and dysfunctional coping strategies rather than problem-focused coping strategies. Conclusion: The nurse administrators in the hospitals need to advocate their in order to use problem-focused coping strategies more frequent than emotion-focused and dysfunctional coping strategies when dealing with workplace stressors

Ethical Values in the Nursing Profession as Perceived by Head Nurses and Staff Nurses in Public Hospitals, Banda Aceh, Indonesia: a Comparison Study

Purpose: Identify the levels of importance of ethical values in the nursing profession as perceived by the head nurses and the staff nurses, and compare the levels of importance of ethical values in the nursing profession as perceived by head nurses and those as perceived by staff nurses in public hospitals, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.Methods: Data collected from79 head nurses and 280 staff nurses were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney U test.Results: The total mean score of the importance of ethical values in the nursing profession perceived by head nurses and staff nurses are at a high level. The top 3 mean scores of the importance of ethical values in the nursing profession perceived by head nurses included caring, autonomy, and confidentiality. Meanwhile, the top 3 mean scores of the importance of ethical values in the nursing profession perceived by staff nurses included caring, confidentiality, and non maleficence. The Mann-Whitney U test showed that head nurses perceived accountability as significantly statistically different from staff nurses. Conclusion: Although head nurses and staff nurses mostly perceived the importance of ethical values in the nursing profession at high levels, it is still need to promote some ethical values of head nurses and staff nurses