Role Stress
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Role Stress
In a clinical setting, role stress or strain has been experienced in poor role definition. This type of stress arises from a lack of clarity on crucial nursing objectives, co-workers’ expectations, key accountabilities, and the overall overview of the responsibilities that come with the job. Sometimes this type of conflict may arise because the job may require one to go against his/her moral values. This stress may also arise when the job demand is incompatible with an individual’s upbringing or morals. Role strain can affect any individual in any post in the nursing profession. This type of role stress makes it hard for nurses to perform their duties diligently, and effectively this may lead to loss of lives and generally poor service delivery.
Poor role definition is a type of role stress or strain that mainly occurs due to responsibilities that come with the job. Most nurses may not be aware of their roles in a hospital or may sometimes have difficulty accomplishing all their duties. The nursing profession is one of the busiest and most taxing professions there (Barnes, 2015). Nurses may, therefore, be prone to forget some of their key roles and responsibilities. Patients need special care and attention doing this regularly, and with different patients, some who might not be collaborative make the profession stressful. This particular strain puts a general strain on all the activities the nurses are supposed to do.
Co-worker expectation is also a significant cause of role stress. This expectation is familiar with the doctors these nurses have to work under. In this instance, role stress is familiar with female nurses who may be harassed by male doctors in the hospital (Joel, 2009). These often lead to confusion and delay of services in the hospital. The nurses’ role becomes strained as she tries to avoid the doctor at any instance, which results in delayed services and negligence of some significant roles and responsibilities of nurses.
Some nursing responsibilities go against nursing practitioners’ religion and morals, which strains how they carry out their duties. This brings about a chain reaction that ultimately strains the expected and perceived roles, resulting in role stress. Conflicts that bring about role stress in nursing are mostly tied to relationships in the workplace, which translates to poor role definition (Barnes, 2015). Role ambiguity is also a significant area of concern in defining role stress or strain in the workplace. Nurses often have to meet demands from patients, their families, and the doctor. In their efforts to meet these demands, they neglect some of the most crucial aspects of their jobs. This affects the output of the nurse and, therefore, their job performance.
Role stress can translate to the execution of duties, which can lead to loss of jobs. This type of strain also varies with the age of the nurse. Reducing ad combating this type of stress is crucial for the institution and its employees. Stress is generally alleviated by constant exercise and learning how to cope and control one’s emotions (Joel, 2009). The type of strain can be dealt with by having and maintaining high levels of professional identity. This will help nurses deal with stresses associated with role strain and help them deal with the realities of the profession. However, these individuals must take responsibility and speak up whenever they feel overwhelmed and have insufficient resources or too many responsibilities that may hinder them from accomplishing their duties.
In conclusion, role stress can be very taxing, especially in the nursing profession; the affected individual must speak up before things get out of hand. These individuals are also advised to seek professional help and counseling. Most hospitals should, however, employ many nurses to avoid some of these instances. Maintaining a high level of professionalism will help a nurse avoid strains such as harassment. Male nurses also experience role conflicts because nursing has traditionally been associated with women; most male nurses struggle with this.
References
Barnes, H. (2015). Exploring the factors that influence nurse practitioner role transition. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 11(2), 178-183.
Joel, L. (2009). Role development: A theoretical perspective. The Evolution of Advanced Practice, 46-57