Examination of Professional Commitment and Stress Management among Nurses from Different Generations

Objective: This study was conducted in order to examine professional commitment and stress management situations of nurses from different generations. Methodology: This descriptive study was conducted with 175 nurses who accepted to participate in this study in a state hospital between April and July 2016. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with the scale of professional commitment in nursing and the scale of ways to cope with stress. In the analysis of the data, correlation, chi-square and student t-test were used. Results: No statistically significant difference was found among the nurses in group X and group Y included in the research in terms of sex, position, cadre status and whether the profession was selected voluntarily (p>0.05) while there were statistically significant differences among the nurses in group X and group Y in terms of marital status, educational status and length of service (p<0.05). When total scores and sub dimension score averages of the nurses in group X and group Y in the professional commitment scale were compared, a statistically significant difference was found between two groups only in the sub dimension of maintaining professional membership (p<0.05). When sub dimension score averages of the nurses in group X and group Y in the scale of ways to cope with stress were compared, statistically significant differences were found between two groups in terms of self-confident approach and seeking social support (p<0.05). Conclusions: The present study reveals that nurses of Y generation are more willing to maintain professional membership while nurses of X generation are more self-confident and seek social support more as a method of coping with stress when compared to the other generation. It is recommended that characteristics of generations are considered in determining the strategies that will help nurses remain in profession and cope with stress.