UNIVERSITY OF LASALETTE

Santiago City
GRADUATE SCHOOL
PROPOSED THESIS TITLE FORM

NAME: Aquino, Cornelio III Santos

GRADUATE PROGRAM: Master of Science in Nursing
PROGRAM MAJOR: Medical Surgical Nursing

TITLE:

STRESS IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT NURSES OF

SOUHTHERN ISABELA GENERAL HOSPITAL AND ITS EFFECT
ON QUALITY OF LIFE

Nursing is known to be a stressful career. Caring for the sick, weak, and traumatized can
place a burden on the nurse. The emergency department registered nurse (RN) is exposed to a
broad variety of stressors including unpredictable work conditions and potential violence,
including patients under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and crime suspects brought in by
police. Previous research has examined stress in emergency nurses, however, there is a gap in
literature regarding this stress and the effect it can have on the nurses quality of life. This study
was designed to ascertain if quality of life in a group of emergency department nurses is affected
by stress.
PROBLEM OBJECTIVES:
The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between self-reported work
stress experienced by nurses who work in an urban emergency department in southern isabela
general hospital and their level of quality of life. By examining quality of life and years working
as a nurse, mentoring programs may be developed to assist nurses manage stress and therefore
improve their quality of life.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
The study aims to answer the following questions:
1. What are the profile of the respondents in terms of:
1. Age
2. Years working as a nurse
3. Gender
5. Shift worked
6. Work staus

2. Level of stress experience by the experience by nurses:

1.1 No stress At All
1.2 Moderate Stress
1.3 A lot of Stress
3. How much variability in quality of life is explained by stress levels :
1.1 Never
1.2 Rarely
1.3 Somewhat often
1.4 Often
1.5 Never
RESEARCH DESIGN:
The study utilized self-reported demographics The study variables were stress and quality of life.
Stress was measured by the modified Operational Police Stress Questionnaire (McCreary
&Thompson, 2012) .The intent of this study was to explain the relationship between reported
stress levels and quality of life. The other focus of this study is to see if there is a relationship
between years working as a nurse and quality of life.
Key Words:
Stress - is your bodys way of responding to any kind of demand or threat.
Emergency Nurse - is a registered nurse providing direct patient care to patients in the
emergency department.
Emergency Room - The department of a hospital responsible for the provision of medical and
surgical care to patients arriving at the hospital in need of immediate care. Emergency
department personnel may also respond to certain situations within the hospital such cardiac
arrests.

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE:
Please answer the following questions to provide more information for this survey.
1. Age

_____

2. Years working as a nurse _____

3. Gender (circle one)

male

female

non-gender

4. Shift worked (circle one) day

mid

night

5. Hours worked per shift (circle one) eight

ten

twelve

6. Work status (circle one ) OJT Job Order Permanent

Emergency Nurse Stress Questionnaire :
Below is a list of items that describe different aspects of being an emergency nurse. After each
item, please circle how much stress it has caused you over the past 6 months, using a 3 point
scale that ranges from:
1 No stress At All
2 Moderate Stress
3 A lot of Stress
1.Shift Work (does the shift you work cause you stress?)
2. Risk of being injured on the job Traumatic events of patients (eg. MVA, death, injury)
4. Managing your social life outside of work
5. Not enough time available to spend with friends and family
6. Finding time to stay in good physical condition
7. Fatigue (e.g. shift you work, overtime)
8. Occupation related health issues (e.g. Back pain)
9. Lack of understanding from family and friends about your work
10. Making friends outside the job
11. Limitations to your social life
12. Feeling like you are always on the job

Professional Quality of Life Scale

Helping people puts you in direct contact with their lives.

As you probably have

experienced, your compassion for those you help has both positive and negative aspects. We
would like to ask you questions about your experiences, both positive and negative, as a helper.
Consider each of the following questions about you and your current situation. Select the

number that honestly reflects how frequently you experienced these characteristics in the last 30
days.
1 Never
2 Rarely
3 Somewhat often
4 Often
5 Never
1. I am preoccupied with more than one person I help.
2. I jump or am startled by unexpected sounds.
3. I find it difficult to separate my personal life from my life as a helper.
4. I think I might have been affected by the traumatic stress of those I help.
5. Because of my helping, I have felt on edge about various things.
6. I feel depressed because of the traumatic experiences of some of the people I help.
7. I feel as though I am experiencing the trauma of someone I have helped.
8. I avoid certain activities or situations because they remind me of frightening experiences of
the people I help.
9. As a result of my helping, I have intrusive, frightening thoughts.
10. I cant recall important parts of my work with trauma victims.