Identify and Manage Stress in Healthcare Workers

Who does not know the word "stress"? It can be ascertained that stress has been experienced by everyone, including health workers. Stress is a change in the physical and psychological condition that we feel when we are facing a threatening, difficult, or stressful situation. Stress can be physical, psychological, or social stress.

The high risk of stress in health workers is caused by the meeting of various sources of stress (intersection stressorconsists of:

1. Organizational factors, such as excess workload, division issues Shiftwork, lack of human resources, poor reward system (for example, salary), change in service system (for example, transition to Electronic Medical Records, change in BPJS rules), poor work climate, unclear communication flow, and so on.

2. Environmental factors, such as lack of support and conflicts with colleagues, risk of transmission of infection from patients, neglect of service SOPs in the team, complaints from patients and families, risk of worsening of condition/death in patients, and so on.

3. Personal factors, such as lack of competence, health problems, financial problems, personal problems, experiencing disasters, difficulty dividing time, lack of a supportive environment, and so on.

Stress management should begin by identifying sourcesof stress. After that, do careful planning to minimize stress, recognize the resources owned to cope with stress, and reduce the negative impacts arising from stress.

Some examples of stress management needed by healthcare workers:

• Design effective and efficient work time management.
• Have an open discussion with the team about the problem at hand and the troubleshooting needed.
• Balancing work routines with self-care and social relationships. For example, exercising, Stretching, worship, family time, chatting with friends, doing hobbies, etc.
• Calming down when faced with a problem (e.g., breathing relaxation, mindfulness), conduct problem analysis by considering various points of view, and solve problems clearly.
• Connect with a supportive environment so that you have safe friends to complain, tell stories, or get advice.
• Seek help from a psychologist or psychiatrist when it is difficult or overwhelmed to manage stress independently.

Health workers have been helping many people. Now it's time for us to start paying more attention to managing stress and life balance. For the better welfare of health workers and patients.

Please select one statement from each pair below that you agree with more.

Authors

Novia Dwi Rahmaningsih, M. Psi, Psychologist.

Co-founderof the Speech Partner Psychological Service Bureau.

Currently, Novia practices at Red and White Regional Hospital, Magelang Regency.