stress, the silent killer
Preventing and managing occupational stress in healthcare workers is paramount for the quality of care and in providing an excellent patient-centered experience at the same time that productivity increases. It is important that healthcare organizations take measures to help their employees find ways to manage and prevent their stress at work in the same manner they attempt to prevent occupational injuries. Occupational stress is defined as stress related to a person's job due to unexpected responsibilities that do not go hand in hand with the worker's knowledge, skills and organizational expectations of the employee causing them an incapacity to cope. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health [NIOSH], has reported that many are the factors that contribute to work-related stress, such as work overload, toxic work environment, interpersonal relationships, harassment, hours of work, managerial bullying, lack of career development opportunities, role conflict among many others. The employee's personalities as well as coping mechanisms are also key in the way they manage their stress. Occupational stress can potentially affect the healthcare provider's health in negative ways and eventually end up in depression, anxiety and other psychological disorders as well as behavioral strains and physical symptoms such as fatigue, exhaustion, headaches, weight loss or gain, stomach disorders, aches and pains and sleep disturbances. Learning to recognize the symptoms of occupational stress is vital in our quest to reduce it and manage it. Early signs of stress include but are not limited to feeling anxious, depressed and irritable, loss of interest at work, sleep problems, trouble concentrating, muscular tension, social withdrawal among others. Coping with stress should not have to be done by yourself. Healthcare organizations provide counseling services for those in need of help but there are plenty of measures we, as healthcare providers can take in order to help ourselves control our stress or completely eliminate it. Certain situations we might not have control of but we can certainly use tips and resources to help us cope. The Mission of this website is to bring awareness to healthcare providers about the consequences of occupational stress, the silent killer.
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ABOUT MEA Bachelor of Science in Radiation Therapy student creating an information website for the prevention and management of occupational stress as a final project for a Health Informatics class.
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