Health and community services-stress
A female nurse developed work related stress after a patient displayed violent and threatening behaviour during a night shift. The hospital knew that the patient could get aggressive, but had not told the nurse. The hospital had no strategies or procedures for dealing with violent patients.
Feeling tired? Nervous? Keep getting headaches? These are all signs that you are stressed out. Everybody goes through stress at one time or another, but when it is with you all the time that’s when it can really affect your health.
The reason why health and community work gets so stressful is:
- you are sometimes dealing with violent and aggressive behaviour
- you deal with injury, disease and death
- you have continuous contact with people and their problems.
Work can get busy and demanding and it is reasonable for you to be able to cope with that. It's just when it's full on and all the time that stress is a problem. An employer can reduce unnecessary work-related stress by providing a consistent approach to management.
What happens when your stress gets out of control?
Physical effects
- fast heart rate
- headaches
- blurred vision
- sweating
- dizziness
- aching neck and shoulder muscles
- clenched jaw
- skin rashes
Behavioural effects
- nervous, angry and moody
- drinking too much alcohol and taking drugs
- not sleeping properly
- short attention span
How do you keep stress under control?
- talk about your problems with others
- have a clear job description and stick to that work only
- change work tasks to avoid boredom
- report any bullying or intimidation
- keep fit and relaxed
Want to know more about stress?