The Contribution of a Short-term Psychological Group Intervention to Reduce Stress and Burnout Among Cardiac Intensive Care Nurses: A Pilot Study

Exhaustion typifies a wide variety of professions, but it is especially evident in the service and aid professions (e.g., teaching and medicine), and nurses in particular are reported to be among the most exhausted. Exhaustion is described as nursing's "professional cancer", and stress is one of the major sources leading to it.

Articles and studies referring to stress among nurses in the years 1980-1996 mapped out six sources of stress stemming from inner sources related to the employee and those stemming from hospital organization: stress that stems from work patterns and overload (such as blurring, lack of clarity, lack of control and coping with death); interpersonal relationships at work (conflicts with other employees and with the medical staff); relationships with patients and their families (insufficient preparation for coping with the emotional needs of patients and their families); work organization and management (for example, lack of staff support and staff shortages); aspects related to the nursing profession (concerns regarding the treatment and care received by the patient), as well as concerns regarding the employee's practical knowledge and skills.

Since stress can lead, among other things, to functional exhaustion and dissatisfaction at work, and since studies have shown that stress has direct and indirect effects on the quality of patient care, it is important to find ways to decrease stress and the resulting exhaustion. Such efforts will increase nurses' efficiency at work and will also improve their quality of life, not to mention that of the patients. Therefore, the current study will examine the effectiveness of a short-term group intervention program for the nursing staff of a hospital's cardiac intensive-care unit.

There are a number of ways to decrease stress which vary both in the theory behind them ( the cognitive approach, for instance, explains the source of stress as stemming from cognitive and behavioral patterns acquired during one's life whereas the dynamic approach relates to deep and unconscious layers of the mind), and in their nature (the way in which they're facilitated). Researchers who have examined the relative efficacy of the different intervention programs in decreasing stress found that cognitive therapy is the most effective approach. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can be applied both as individual therapy and as group therapy. According to the researchers, interventions in a group setting have several advantages over individual CBT: creating open relationships between staff members, giving participants an opportunity to get to know one another, providing a platform where employees can express their feelings, developing a sincere support group which proves crucial during stressful work situations, forging a feeling of belonging, and creative solving of shared conflicts and financial issues.

The current study will examine the influence of a CBT short-term group intervention program on the levels of psychological stress and professional exhaustion experienced by the nursing staff in a cardiac department.