Research Paper Sample on Physician Stressors During Patient Care

Background and Significance of the Issue

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The medical profession is perceived as an occupation that is very stressful. In a health care setting, some stressors are invariable and inevitable making psychological risk factors and stress to be regarded as critical issues in occupational health. Job stress and workload are predictors of physicians health, motivation and productivity (Friedberg et al. 2013). Job stressors on physicians may depend on prescribing and ordering preferences, and decisions to care for patients. These decisions can be evaluated in diverse entities that may lead to little or no care for patients. Stress and psychological aspects on physicians in emergency rooms have been discussed in recent years in medical literature. Most physicians believe that patient care is influenced negatively by their stress during long working hours. The workload in emergency rooms leads to both emotional and cognitive burdens that cause job stress (Lambert & Ito, 2004). Emergency physicians reach abnormal stress earlier compared to other medical specialists. Job stress increases when physicians are more dissatisfied causing a change in social support and care for patients. Thus, occupational stress influences the work and performance of physicians by reducing the quality and care. The above-mentioned factors are important to investigate because of their effect patient care and work-related health.

Problem statement

The primary duty of nurses is to offer medical care for patients with health complications in different settings when care is needed. The commitment of the practitioners to quality service is affected by the nature of their stressors, especially in emergency rooms. The number of nurses in different health facilities does not match the increasing number of patents. The factor of the nurse to patient ratio defines the number of patients a nurse will serve in a day (Ummenhofer et al., 2001). Overworked health care professionals witnessing aggression, long working hours, participating in resurrection, violence, and death of patients have been noted to have a psychological unrest, emotional issues and occupational stress that affects their dedication to duty and non-professional behavior. The frequency of these events in emergency rooms means that physicians cannot be immune to the stressors. Stressors thus lead to dissatisfaction levels among physicians, and it may influence patient care adversely. The spontaneous response to pressure, fatigue, and depression affects the concentration and commitment of nurses while undertaking medical procedures. The problem then trickles down leading to poor care services and degraded patient outcomes.

Therefore, since the implications of stressors in emergency rooms are profound, the study aim at evaluating the stressors on physicians in emergency rooms and its effects on patient care to enable the creation of strategies meant to improve the quality of outcomes in the health sector.

Theoretical Background and Review of the Literature

One of the primary cause of stressors among physicians has been noted to be the psychosocial effects within the emergency rooms. In a health facility, the consequences of witnessing aggression, participating in resurrection, violence, and death of patients contribute to the depression acquired in the job surrounding (Friedberg et al., 2013). Several types of research have proved the fact that there exist grievous psychosocial risks for nurses and patients during work that can be traced to depression syndrome (Berland, Natvig & Gundersen, 2008). Health practitioners experience auxiliary stress emanating from their working environment related to daily engagement with sick people, long working hours, and poor job satisfaction. The experiences accumulate to levels that affect their commitment to quality care of patients (Chisholm, Collison, Nelson, & Cordell, 2000). Setting up intervention mechanisms to assist in maintaining the expected quality outcomes for those seeking medical attention is important.

Several units within a health facility are affected by the prevalence of physicians stressors. The care of patients under the Intensive Care Unit and emergency rooms is subjected to poor outcomes whenever the practitioners are under depression. The results of stressors are also traced to the inadequate attention they receive from nurses during treatment. The role of nursing in care is to ensure that the intended health interventions are offered to patients with utmost care and ethical concerns to ensure that they abide by the quality standards. However, effects of emergency room stressors lead to a significant degree of compromise. The conceptualization of the nature of performance of the health professional in essential for the formation of frameworks meant for transformational change (Chisholm, Collison, Nelson, & Cordell, 2000).

Research Questions and Hypotheses

The study will be evaluating the stressors on physicians in emergency rooms and its effects on patient care. The exposition will employ two questions that will reveal the impact of stressors on physicians in emergency rooms and its effects on patient care. There is need to explain the association between the dependent and independent variables of the issues based on succinct evidence. The research questions that will assist to achieve the expected objectives of the study will be as follows.

Q1: What is the relationship between physicians' stressors and emergency rooms during patient care?

Q2: What is the relationship between physician stressors and the quality of outcomes during patient care?

Research Approach

The study will employ a mixed approach whereby the research will be both quantitative and qualitative. The mixed method is important because the conclusions that will be made regarding the topic should be based on collected facts and a comparison of the existing literature. The double technique will allow the researcher to account for the information available in the secondary sources utilized in the research and affirming these preliminary findings with primary data collected through the selected mechanisms. The exposition requires the baseline to determine the correlation that exists between the physician's stressors in emergency rooms and patient care. The qualitative part of the study will provide the perceptions and existing reasons surrounding the topic of investigation (Maxwell, 2012). On the other hand, the quantitative side will assist in setting the foundation for a conclusion based on first-hand evidence to increase the level of validity and reliability of the results.

Possible Secondary Data Types or Sources of Information

The study will incorporate the information that is available in the secondary sources related to the topic of the survey. The previously conducted research will provide the scholarly perception of the subject of investigation, which will enhance the understanding of the relationship between the physicians stressors in emergency rooms and patient care. The other secondary sources that will be used in the study will include the statistics available in the medical databases such as Walden research center, MEDLIE, EMBASE, and CINAHL. Using information from the secondary sources will save on time and cost of conducting the investigation. Moreover, the researcher will collect primary data from randomly selected practitioners to affirm the experience in their emergency rooms. A few patients will also be interviewed to outline their experiences from diagnosis to prognosis where applicable. The approach to data collection is based on the need for validity and reliability of the research.

References

Berland, A., Natvig, G. K., & Gundersen, D. (2008). Patient safety and job-related stress: a focus group study. Intensive and critical care nursing, 24(2), 90-97.

Chisholm, C. D., Collison, E. K., Nelson, D. R., & Cordell, W. H. (2000). Emergency Department Workplace Interruptions Are Emergency Physicians Interruptdriven and Multitasking? Academic Emergency Medicine, 7(11), 1239-1243.

Friedberg, M. W., Chen, P. G., Aunon, F. M., Van Busum, K. R., Pham, C., Caloyeras, J. P., ... & Brook, R. H. (2013). Factors affecting physician professional satisfaction and their implications for patient care, health systems, and health policy. Rand Corporation.

Lambert, V. A., Lambert, C. E., & Ito, M. (2004). Workplace stressors, ways of coping and demographic characteristics as predictors of the physical and mental health of Japanese hospital nurses. International journal of nursing studies, 41(1), 85-97.

Ummenhofer, W., Amsler, F., Sutter, P. M., Martina, B., Martin, J., & Scheidegger, D. (2001). Team performance in the emergency room: assessment of inter-disciplinary attitudes. Resuscitation, 49(1), 39-46.

Maxwell, J. A. A., 2012. Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (applied social

research methods) (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.