Page 203 - Petelin, Ana, Nejc Šarabon, Boštjan Žvanut, eds. 2017. Zdravje delovno aktivne populacije ▪︎ Health of the Working-Age Population. Proceedings. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem/University of Primorska Press
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icators of discrepancies are: overload, lack of supervision, inadequate finan- stress of conscience as a risk factor for burnout among icu nurses in university medical centre maribor 201
cial benefits, absence of strong workplace community, lack of honesty and con-
flicts of values. All discrepancies contribute to burnout, and focusing on the in-
dividual exclusively will not have the desired effect. Some individuals will seek
refuge in their work as a solution to their personal problems. Burnout develops
slowly over the years, making it difficult to diagnose and treat. Burnt out indi-
viduals are chronically tired, experience headaches, sleep disturbances, vom-
iting, changes in nutrition, are alienated from their work and feel that they are
becoming less effective, motivated and more cynical. Complete burnout is a
state of physical, emotional and mental fatigue and classified as a problem re-
lated to life management. Burnout is a gradually expanding disintegration of
values, spirit and mood. Depression and anxiety are also common. One of the
results of prolonged stress could be a stroke experience, heart attack and sui-
cide (Maslach and Leiter, 1997; SZO, 2006; Hafner and Ihan, 2014).
Nursing care in intensive care units (ICU)
One of the nursing roles is supporting the treatment plan. Nurses in the ICU
are known for their systematic and integrated approaches, which require psy-
chophysical abilities and personality traits allowing a responsible attitude to-
wards the patient (Kodila, 2008; Makovec, 2009). Healthcare workers need to
be highly qualified, requiring theoretical knowledge, responsibility, and expe-
rience for an immediate professional response, making the ICU itself a con-
stant stressor (Mealer et al., 2007; Polovšak, 2009). The psychological effects of
stress are relatively unknown, but are related to the environment where treat-
ment is complex and mortality of patients is high. Consequently, nurses may
become irritable, depressed and frustrated. Continuous stress and the inabil-
ity to adapt can cause burnout symptoms (Badger, 2001; Jonsson et al., 2003;
Mealer et al., 2007).
Burnout in healthcare systems is often overlooked, because the focus is
on caring, and professionals often do not recognise their own vulnerabilities.
The authors are preparing a study on the impact of troubled conscience on
burnout in a sample of ICU nurses in University Clinical Centre Maribor. The
chosen research instrument was the Swedish Stress of Conscience Question-
naire (Glassberg et al., 2006). The aim of the article is to present results of stud-
ies that previously used the questionnaire to confirm its usability in Slovenian
context.
Methods
A descriptive method was used. A literature search was performed in March
2017 in databases CINAHL with Full Text and MEDLINE. We used the exact
search phrase “stress of conscience questionnaire”. All studies that included
registered nurses were chosen for the review, excluding the validation studies
of the questionnaire. The final analysis included 6 studies, as seen in figure 1.
cial benefits, absence of strong workplace community, lack of honesty and con-
flicts of values. All discrepancies contribute to burnout, and focusing on the in-
dividual exclusively will not have the desired effect. Some individuals will seek
refuge in their work as a solution to their personal problems. Burnout develops
slowly over the years, making it difficult to diagnose and treat. Burnt out indi-
viduals are chronically tired, experience headaches, sleep disturbances, vom-
iting, changes in nutrition, are alienated from their work and feel that they are
becoming less effective, motivated and more cynical. Complete burnout is a
state of physical, emotional and mental fatigue and classified as a problem re-
lated to life management. Burnout is a gradually expanding disintegration of
values, spirit and mood. Depression and anxiety are also common. One of the
results of prolonged stress could be a stroke experience, heart attack and sui-
cide (Maslach and Leiter, 1997; SZO, 2006; Hafner and Ihan, 2014).
Nursing care in intensive care units (ICU)
One of the nursing roles is supporting the treatment plan. Nurses in the ICU
are known for their systematic and integrated approaches, which require psy-
chophysical abilities and personality traits allowing a responsible attitude to-
wards the patient (Kodila, 2008; Makovec, 2009). Healthcare workers need to
be highly qualified, requiring theoretical knowledge, responsibility, and expe-
rience for an immediate professional response, making the ICU itself a con-
stant stressor (Mealer et al., 2007; Polovšak, 2009). The psychological effects of
stress are relatively unknown, but are related to the environment where treat-
ment is complex and mortality of patients is high. Consequently, nurses may
become irritable, depressed and frustrated. Continuous stress and the inabil-
ity to adapt can cause burnout symptoms (Badger, 2001; Jonsson et al., 2003;
Mealer et al., 2007).
Burnout in healthcare systems is often overlooked, because the focus is
on caring, and professionals often do not recognise their own vulnerabilities.
The authors are preparing a study on the impact of troubled conscience on
burnout in a sample of ICU nurses in University Clinical Centre Maribor. The
chosen research instrument was the Swedish Stress of Conscience Question-
naire (Glassberg et al., 2006). The aim of the article is to present results of stud-
ies that previously used the questionnaire to confirm its usability in Slovenian
context.
Methods
A descriptive method was used. A literature search was performed in March
2017 in databases CINAHL with Full Text and MEDLINE. We used the exact
search phrase “stress of conscience questionnaire”. All studies that included
registered nurses were chosen for the review, excluding the validation studies
of the questionnaire. The final analysis included 6 studies, as seen in figure 1.
