Stress in Nursing Students

Abstract

Throughout a Nursing academic course, students are confronted by situations that generate stress. Students from professionalizing Nursing courses are especially demanded at practical skills, such as performing invasive procedures with venous punctures, bandaging, hygiene, and comfort care in patients with different degrees of illness. For these students, stress levels may render learning difficulty with the possibility of leading to errors, lack of concentration and oscillation of attention levels. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Headnote

Abstract

Throughout a Nursing academic course, students are confronted by situations that generate stress. Students from professionalizing Nursing courses are especially demanded at practical skills, such as performing invasive procedures with venous punctures, bandaging, hygiene, and comfort care in patients with different degrees of illness. For these students, stress levels may render learning difficulty with the possibility of leading to errors, lack of concentration and oscillation of attention levels.

Key words: students, nursing, stress

Stress in Nursing Students

In the last few years there has been an increasing interest on the study of the phenomenon of stress (Giacobbi et al., 2007). According to Lazarus and Folkman (1984) stress is: "... requirements (internal or exterior), that according to the individual's estimate, they place in trial and/or exceed the available possibilities. The study of stress is justified, while it is connected with the event of symptoms /clues in organic and psychological level. What concerns the first part, usually mild or serious psychosomatic problems are expressed (Matrunola, 1996). What concerns the psychological level, stress influences the behavior (increased concern and irascibility), the sentimental reactions (increased stress, sentimental precessions), the cognitive functionalism (difficulty in selfconcentration) and the social behavior as with drawl, restriction of social relations (Cordes and Dougherty, 1993).

The nature of nursing profession is widely acceptable and inquiringly argued. Stress that nurses experience in combination with the psychological searches, the moral dilemmas and the patients' requirements overload their mental world. Moreover, the working environment of the Nurses and situations, such as the pressure of work, the use of new complex of technology etc. they are incriminated as aggravating factors for the creation stress in nursing staff(Beck and Srivastava, 1991; Bakker et al., 2000).

It has been observed that the Nursing students experience stress during their studies, fact that explains the increasing interest on studying the phenomenon the last years. More specifically, researches have shown that stress and personality influence the academic progress and adaptation. Entering and study in the university signals a new period for the students, where new interests, stimulus and companies, dominate in their daily life mainly after a laborious period before their entry in the third degree education. However, the changing of their environment including the difficulties of modern practicality, the students experience a lot and various problems and sentimental intensities, as financial or family problems, sexual problems, depression, problematic relations with their friends or even stress for their future and more generally for their choice of profession. All of these problem sare likely to influence in a different degree the students' mental sphere so that one time they experience high and another time a mediocre intensity stress (Parkes, 1982; Parkes, 1984; Firth, 1986; Biggers et al., 1988; Phillips, 1988; Russler, 1991; Heaman, 1995; Aktekin et al., 2001).

According to the bibliography, numerous of factors are possible to constitute source of stress to students, which mainly are the particular number of courses that the regulation of each university imposes, the way the students evaluate their preparation for the practice of the profession, the degree of adaptation in the new conditions of life that the academic requirements of study impose, that differ considerably from those of school environment, the lack of essential skills of study, the attitude of the student himself toward his studies, like the requirements for high output and the fear of failure, etc. The factors that put students through psychological burden differ so much from their exit from the university as when they enter. As an example, after their entrance into the university, the staying away from home and the degree of the students' adaptation constitute the main sources of stress for the students while on the contrary for those who are heading to the end of their student life, the professional prospects, constitute the main source of stress (Parkes, 1985; Sawatzky, 1988; Dion and Giordano, 1990; Jones and Johnson, 1997; Bakir et al., 1997; Warbahet al.,2007; Kurebayashi et al., 2012).

Summarizing, the students after their removal from their close family environment, they face not only problems that concern their studies but also personal, family, health and anything else, that are possible to constitute source of stress. In many countries exist in the universities, special departments of Psychological Advisory Students functions, that has as main aim the hearing and assistance to students with their problems.

References

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