Strategies to help nurses cope with change in the healthcare setting

Working in health care has never seemed more exciting or stressful. The rapid changes made to the ways in which services are delivered, the search for economies of scale and role change adjustments designed to ensure that provision is timely and consumer friendly, all have the potential to create a stressful working environment. There are no longer jobs for life and nurses are required to perform new duties or to apply for posts that they once counted as their own. Although change does not need to be threatening, this article examines the experience when it is and recommends supportive ways of dealing with it.