Stressed out! Strategies for enhancing performance for healthcare providers.
Workplace stress and its effects on job performance are major concerns from both a human and economic perspective.1 The typical day for healthcare providers is inherently stressful.2–4 The consequences for having to work long hours and deal with high case loads, shortages of resources, time pressures, and high performance expectations greatly impact a nurse's job retention, satisfaction, and performance.5
Although much research on stress has been conducted, little is known about the specific behaviors and cognitive skills associated with the effective and ineffective management of stress and performance.6 According to one researcher, the main reason there has been little attention given to job performance in occupational stress research is that job performance is a complex variable.7
The aim of this experimental pilot study was to examine individual outcomes that have a more direct effect on job performance, targeting issues such as role ambiguity, relationships at work, and personal self-management. In particular, specific behavioral and cognitive skills used in the workplace to enhance performance while simultaneously mitigating the negative effects of stress were examined.
Method
The aim of the Strategies for Enhancing Performance (SfEP) Initiative was to identify, isolate, test, and measure the effectiveness of specific performance control practices (behavioral and cognitive skills) used in the workforce. Thirty-six nurses and nurse managers from University of Arizona Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz., a 487-bed hospital with a Level I trauma center, were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. A total of 32 University of Arizona Medical Center nurses and nurse managers completed all the requirements of the study from September 2007 to December 2007. The dropout rate for the control group was approximately 17% (4 out of 18); there was a 0% dropout rate for the experimental group. The majority of participants reported having a 4-year college degree or higher, with ages ranging from 35 to 54. A majority had 0 to 3 children under the age of 18 at home. The sample groups were instructed not to talk about the study with one another during its duration.
