NURSES' PERCEPTIONS OF SUPPORT DURING STRESSFUL SITUATIONS (COLLEAGUE, REWARD, SUPERIOR, COMFORT).
Contributors: Columbia University. Teachers College.
Published: 1985
Number of pages: 128
Subjects: Education, Guidance and Counseling.; Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: This study explored practicing nurses' perceptions of available or desired emotional support behaviors and the sources of those behaviors in the practice environment during work-related stressful experiences. Practicing registered nurses who gave direct patient care on medical and/or surgical units situated in selected general hospitals located in a large northeastern metropolitan area were invited to participate in the study. The study sample consisted of 102 volunteer subjects.

The findings indicated that support was available during approximately three-quarters of the reported stressful incidents. The four categories of support behaviors which emerged from the data were: helping, comfort, reward, and insight behaviors. Although all categories of behaviors were perceived to be available to some extent, comfort and helping behaviors were most frequently reported as available. When support was not perceived to be available, helping and reward behaviors were identified as those most desired.

The respondents identified nursing superiors and nursing colleagues most frequently as sources of available support. When support was not available, nursing superiors were identified most often as the source of desired support. The data were further analyzed to indicate the specific behaviors attributed to each support-provider. When support was available, nursing superiors were identified most frequently as having provided helping behaviors, and nursing colleagues were identified most frequently as providers of comfort behaviors. When support was not available, nursing superiors were identified chiefly as the desired providers of helping and reward behaviors, while nursing colleagues were again identified chiefly as providers of comfort behaviors.

It was concluded that: (1) More often than not, support was available in the practice setting for the staff nurse. (2) The nurse respondents most frequently perceived other nurses, either colleagues or superiors, as the sources of available and desired support. (3) There were clear expectations on the part of the staff nurses that their superiors provide support to them in the form of helping behaviors such as assistance and direction with the work-load and in the form of reward behaviors such as acknowledging their efforts to cope during stressful situations.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-12, Section: A, page: 3598.

Thesis (ED.D.)--COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY TEACHERS COLLEGE, 1985.

School code: 0055.