Review : Perceptions of job stress

Abstract

■ The experiences of the first graduate children's nurses to qualify on Part 15 of the UKCC Register were drawn on for this study

■ The literature shows that stress is more prevalent in newly qualified staff nurses

■ In order to provide optimum support, awareness of the particular factors that create stress at this time is vital

■ There was a chronological dimension to the stress experience of the children's nurses', which began with an initial feeling of survival and ended with a sense of equilibrium

■ Situations which would have initially evoked stress were no longer perceived as stressful as their confidence grew

■ Towards the end of the year, any specific stressful events were associated with increased managerial responsibilities or beginning a new job

■ The nurses consistently reported increased stress when dealing with a number of specific situations