Psychiatric nurses’ perceptions about their work experience : implications for counselling

Abstract

Occupational stress has an influence on both organizations and employees, resulting in burnout, employee turnover, absenteeism, lack of motivation, and poor performance. Employees in the health care sector have been found to be particularly vulnerable to occupational stress, which has a significant impact on their performance, well-being, and job satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to explore how nurses working in the mental health setting perceive their experience as professionals and how this experience affects their lives. Twelve participants divided into three groups contributed to this study by sharing their experiences. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data acquired from the group sessions. Consequently, data was coded and clustered, and themes were identified. The extracted themes include: the effects of transition from student to nurse, communication, workload, lack of staff and clashes with other professionals, support and counselling. A key implication that emerged from the study is the need for the introduction of formal support such as counselling, supervision and better communication between staff and management. Recommendations for further research with the aim to gather more information from a managerial perspective, policy, and counselling practice are presented.