The PICOT question seeks to address implementing strategies for preventing stress among nurses working for more than 12 hours a day would lead to a reduction of errors by nurses and improve patient outcomes. The nursing practice problem selected is on errors by nurses due to stress and other related issues arising from working for long hours. The articles selected contribute centrally to the PICOT question and the nursing practice problem. The first article by Daigle et al. (2018) gives clear evidence that stress management leads to fewer nurse errors. This observation is directly linked to the PICOT question and the reduced number of nurse errors ultimately contributes to positive patient care outcomes.
The second article by Chesak et al. (2019) shows that the level of evidence for the interventions of stress-related problems among nurses is low. According to this article, there are not enough randomized controlled trials, standardized measurement tools, and investigations concerning strategies that organizations implement to address the issue of stress among nurses. This article, even though it is not directly linked to the PICOT question, it is relevant because it underscores the need for researchers to study how stress affects nursesā performance and patient outcomes.
The third article by Chrouser et al. (2018) is also correlated with the PICOT question as it investigates the relationship between nurse burnout and patient outcomes. The findings of this article showed that burnout contributes significantly to nursing errors hence poor care outcomes in the long term. Therefore, it implies that if nurses are assisted to deal with stress-related problems, there will be improved patient outcomes.
The fourth article by Di Muzio et al. (2019) analyzed the relationship between various stress factors among nurses and medication errors. The findings confirmed the hypothesis that helping nurses to deal with stress-related problems will improve their performance, reduce errors, and improve patient outcomes. Therefore, this article directly addresses the PICOT question and the nursing practice problem selected for this project. Similarly, the article by Gorgich et al. (2016) addresses the various causes of medication errors among nurses and the possible prevention strategies. According to this article, excessive workloads, which mean long working hours, are some of the leading causes of medication errors among nurses. Therefore, the article is directly linked to the PICOT question and the nursing practice problem. Lastly, the article by Dehghan-Nayeri (2018) addresses the perceptions of nurses regarding the widespread apathetic and punitive management in conditions of overwork. The findings of this study show that nurses are negatively affected by poor working conditions, which are mainly compounded by punitive and apathetic managerial approaches. This article thus addresses the nursing practice problem highlighted in the PICOT question.
Based on the findings of the selected articles for this project, it is clear that stress-related problems, such as fatigue and burnout due to working for long hours, contribute significantly to nursing errors. Ultimately, patient outcomes become poor and the primary objective of nursing is not achieved. Therefore, it is important for nursing leaders and managers to come up with strategies that address stress among nurses. The current dynamics in nursing practice show that there will be staff shortages in the industry in the future due to the evolving patient needs. Therefore, it means that nurses will continue to work for long hours, hence being exposed to stress. As such, nurses should be supported with stress prevention and relieving strategies so that they can cope well, prevent errors in their practice, and improve patient outcomes.
References
Chesak, S. S., Cutshall, S. M., Bowe, C. L., Montanari, K. M., & Bhagra, A. (2019). Stress management interventions for nurses: Critical literature review. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 37(3), 288-295. Web.
Chrouser, K. L., Xu, J., Hallbeck, S., Weinger, M. B., & Partin, M. R. (2018). The influence of stress responses on surgical performance and outcomes: Literature review and the development of the surgical stress effects (SSE) framework. The American Journal of Surgery, 216(3), 573-584. Web.
Daigle, S., Talbot, F., & French, D. J. (2018). Mindfulnessābased stress reduction training yields improvements in wellābeing and rates of perceived nursing errors among hospital nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 74(10), 2427-2430. Web.
Dehghan-Nayeri, N., Shali, M., Navabi, N., & Ghaffari, F. (2018). Perspectives of oncology unit nurse managers on missed nursing care: A Qualitative study. Asia-Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing, 5(3), 327-336. Web.
Di Muzio, M., Dionisi, S., Di Simone, E., Cianfrocca, C., Di Muzio, F., Fabbian, F., Barbiero, G., Tartaglini, D., & Giannetta, N. (2019). Can nursesā shift work jeopardize the patient safety? A systematic review. European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences, 23(10), 4507-4519. Web.
Gorgich, E. A. C., Barfroshan, S., Ghoreishi, G., & Yaghoobi, M. (2016). Investigating the causes of medication errors and strategies to prevention of them from nurses and nursing student viewpoint. Global Journal of Health Science, 8(8), 220-227. Web.