Biggest stressors for nurses: Feeling unappreciated, undervalued

The demands of the job are less stressful for nurses than feeling unappreciated and undervalued, according to a new study published in the Annals of Behavioural Medicine. Researchers measured the heart rates of 100 nurses at a major Scottish teaching hospital and recorded the tasks they were doing at the time. They found that nurses felt less stress if they felt they were in control of their activities and if they felt valued and appreciated. "Nursing is by its very nature a demanding job but perhaps in the future we should consider ways of increasing the control that nurses have and how rewarded they feel so that we can minimize their stress," said study coauthor Derek Johnston in an announcement about the study. Study announcement