Children’s Hospital of Oakland

Nurses often have the the most challenging job in a hospital as their duties cover the entire treatment and care processes. They must provide medical care to patients, emotional support to patients and family, as well as support to doctors where needed. They are expected to have as extensive a knowledge of medicine as doctors, and simultaneously provide a high level of compassion for their patients. Because of this large role they play in a hospital, they are an integral part of the health care process. The challenges nurses face are extraordinary, and over time often take their toll on the care-givers.

At Children’s Hospital and Research Center of Oakland (CHRC) nurses’ stress levels are reaching a critical point. They face several stress points in their profession that can, and has, inhibited their ability to dutifully fulfill their job requirements. The first stress point is the emotional toll that is brought on by caring for sick children and their families. The second, is having the time constraint of a constant demand for attention from many different area, while only having a finite amount of time to attend to them. The time crunch felt by nurses can be overwhelming. Thirdly, nurses expressed a need for additional resources to fulfill their responsibilities. This stress manifests itself into harmful health effects, reduced care quality, and higher turnover.

This must be addressed. From the information I gained through research I have designed a short term solution to alleviate stress through peer support. CHRC should organize and support group meetings outside the purview of the hospital administration. These meetings should have the overall theme of community support but participants should also be allowed to choose their own approach. This would provide a safe environment for the nurses to express their feelings and receive emotional support from their peers.

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