Psycho-social working conditions of nursing, medical and paramedic staff in a hospital emergency department
Psycho-social working conditions of nursing, medical and paramedic staff in a hospital emergency department

Summary/Abstract: Background: A hospital Emergency Department (ED) is a place in which numerous working conditions evoke various organizational and operational stressors that affect the medical staff employed there.Aim of the study: Analyze the psycho-social working environment of nursing, paramedic, and medical staff, in a specific hospital ED. In particular, examine 1) work requirements 2) levels of control 3) psycho-physical wellbeing, and 4) changes expected by the staff.Material and methods: The research was conducted among 69 employees of the ED (nursing, paramedic, and medical staff) of the University Clinical Hospital in Opole. A standardized Psychosocial Working Conditions Questionnaire (PWCQ) was applied. Results: Mean scores were as follows: 94.99 points on the demands scale, 59.26 points on the control scale, 48.94 points on the social support scale, and 75.32 points on the desirable changes scale. Length of service in the job correlated negatively with workplace support received (r=–0.308, p=0.01). Meanwhile, the necessity for changes in the workplace was stronger in the residents of villages and towns below 100,000 residents (p=0.007). Material status of the respondents correlated significantly (p<0.05) with the answers collected in each PWCQ questionnaire subscale. Support received in the workplace was significantly higher in the paramedics (51.11±8.48), and doctors (52.95±13.66), than it was in nurses (44.39±10.26) (p=0.005).Conclusions: Due to numerous stressors present in the ED, and the psycho-social working conditions, employers ought to make some effort to modify them.

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