IMPACT ON NURSES MENTAL HEALTH GIVING CARE IN STRESSFUL SITUATIONS

Abstract

The Nurse have as main characteristic the "Care Management", understood as preserving life ensuring satisfaction of needs and is recognized as the only permanent caregiver in the care process. The mental health conditions in the Nurses are emerging strongly today, which highlights the stress to physical, mental and emotional health and may even lead to depression and anxiety. This research aims to determine the impact on the mental health of Nurses working in stressful situations in public and private, medium and high complexity health centers; with a non-experimental, cross-sectional study conducted at 70 Nurses working in Critical and Oncology Units patient in the city of Antofagasta, Chile, through a self-administered instrument, the scale "Nursing Stress Scale". From the 34 stressors applied, 48.5% of the nurses obtained the highest score 34 points, with the highest frequency: observe the user suffering 68.2%; perform procedures involving painful experiences users 57.6% ; have to perform non- nursing work 56.1% and insufficient staff to adequately cover the work of the unit 53%. Conclusion: So 48.5% of the nurses generate some degree of stress as they provide care in stressful situations resulting impact on mental health, looking mainly affected the psychological and social environment, and finally the physical environment.