Stress in nursing: an examination of stressors and coping mechanisms of nurses in rural hospitals in northern British Columbia

This survey study examined stress, coping and social support mechanisms in a sample of 87 nurses working in rural hospitals in northern British Columbia. Instruments included the Tension Thermometer, a control appraisal measure, the Ways of Coping Questionnaire, a social support check list and the Nursing Stress Scale. Evidence was found to support the concept that nursing is stressful. While most of the stressors identified by the nurses fell into Parkes' categories of nursing stress, the number one stressor was workload/overload as indicated by forty-six percent of the respondents. As hypothesized there was a positive relationship between nurses' appraisal of a stressful situation and the use of emotion-focused coping. In addition, general social support was positively related to nursing stress while specific measures of social support were not related to nurse stress. Implications for counselling are discussed.