Nurse Managers Stress and Coping

Objective: The purpose of this study was to gain insight into nurse managers’ stress experiences and coping strategies in order to better support them. Design: A qualitative exploratory descriptive research design was used in this study. Subject: Fifteen nurse managers participated in this study. Results: Three descriptive themes related to nurse managers’ occupational stress were identified: role overload, loneliness, and role conflict. We also identified three descriptive themes that contributed to their stress management: sufficient support and advice, taking mental breaks while off duty, and individual coping strategies. Conclusions: Our study proposes two recommendations to reduce nurse managers’ stress. First, for nurse managers who experience work overload, hospitals should support them in learning how to work efficiently and how to manage their response to work demands. Second, nurse managers’ primary stressors were loneliness and role conflict. Nurse managers are known to juggle multiple demands from the hospital nursing director and staff nurses. Although it is difficult to eliminate the role conflict, nurse managers should be guided on how to manage conflicting demands, the hospital nursing director and staff nurses.