CE: Original Research: Work-Related Stress and Positive Thinking Among Acute Care Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Survey

: Background: Acute care nurses work in highly taxing environments, and as such are vulnerable to work-related stress, burnout, and attrition. Yet some nurses appear to flourish even in the presence of such stress, perhaps because of differences in their cognitive processes. Positive thinking, a set of skills that can be learned, has been linked to increased well-being, physical health, and longevity. But at this writing, there has been scant research investigating the use of positive thinking among nurses.

To assess the relationship between perceptions of work-related stress and the use of positive thinking among acute care nurses.

A cross-sectional survey consisting of the Expanded Nursing Stress Scale, the Positive Thinking Skills Scale (PTSS), and a demographic questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of 298 RNs, which included nurses already working for an eight-campus health care system and newly hired nurses during orientation.

Compared to the established group, the incoming RNs were generally younger, had less education, and reported higher levels of both work-related stress and positive thinking. Linear regression analysis revealed that an increase in perceived stress was predictive of an increase in positive thinking. The PTSS, which had not been previously tested among nurses, was found to be reliable and valid.

This is the first U.S. study to evaluate the use of positive thinking in managing work-related stress among acute care nurses. The data suggest that positive thinking skills are being used to cope with such stress. But the mean PTSS scores for both groups were only slightly above midline, suggesting that nurses' use of positive thinking as a coping skill can be improved through formal training and education.