Affiliation:
1. Department of Holistic Care and Management in Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences Medical University of Lublin Lublin Poland
2. Provincial Polyclinical Hospital in Skierniewice Skierniewice Poland
3. Faculty of Social Sciences Institute of Sociology, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin Lublin Poland
Abstract
ABSTRACTAimTo assess the level of stress of conscience experienced by Polish nurses and midwives and its determinants.DesignDescriptive cross‐sectional study.MethodsThe study was conducted from March 2019 to December 2020 and included convenience sampling of nurses and midwives working in hospitals in south‐eastern Poland. An adapted version of the stress of the conscience questionnaire was used.ResultsA total of 476 nurses and midwives completed the survey. The stress of conscience mean value was 67.57. There were no differences in stress of conscience between nurses and midwives. There were five predictors of stress of conscience for nurses: additional job, place of residence, care for patients over 65 years of age, satisfaction with one's salary and having specialised courses, for midwives: social status, work mode and postgraduate studies.ConclusionWith the knowledge of predictors of stress of conscience, educational institutions, policymakers and hospital managers should focus their interventions on the factors that lead to a higher level of stress of conscience. It is essential to provide psychological support, building positive relationships between colleagues and focusing on organisational conditions.ImplictFurther research in this area is therefore encouraged, along with pre‐ and postgraduate training in coping with challenging situations such as the death of a patient and caring for elderly patients with dementia or multiple diseases. The study identifies predictors of stress of conscience and problems that can influence their appearance. Factors that increase the stress of conscience, such as organisational conditions and caring after patients are over age 65, should receive special attention in clinical education and result in the provision of an increased level of support from supervisors. Policymakers should also direct their future actions towards the ageing population, staff shortages, the resignation from the profession by improving working conditions and reducing the stress of conscience.Reporting MethodSTROBE guidelines.Patient or Public ContributionNo patient or public contribution.