Dear colleague,
b b b b b b This COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous
impact on the world around us. Probably one of the biggest hit
industries is the healthcare field. A recent study wanted to evaluate
the psychological effects caused by the pandemic. The researchers
believed that COVID-19 has caused occupational stress and PTSD for
healthcare workers (Levi & Moss, 2022). The study used a
convenience sample of ten ICU nurses from a southeastern hospital
in the United States. These nurses had all treated at least one
patient with a severe case of COVID-19. To test the stress levels
of these nurses, they were interviewed over the phone. The interview
used open-ended questions that would assess the participant’s PTSD
symptoms. At the same time, participants were asked to rate their
job satisfaction using a Likert scale. Once the interview was
complete, the opened-ended ended responses were compared to the
criteria for PTSD in the DSM-5. Then, job satisfaction scores were
also correlated with one another. Out of the ten nurses, seven of
them met the criteria for PTSD. At the same time, five out of ten
nurses had contemplated quitting their job within the last six
months. The researchers concluded that once job stresses are severe
enough, they may cause PTSD symptoms. With that in mind, a
high amount of stress may also lead to lower job satisfaction.
However, researchers close the article by explaining that further
research is needed to be able to generalize these results to a
wider population (Levi & Moss, 2022).
b b b b b b Another study linked PTSD and job satisfaction.
This second study believes that proper social support would increase
job satisfaction. At the same time, social support and job
satisfaction could help veterans overcome PTSD (Harris et al., 2017).
The sample for this study consisted of 172 veterans from a
veteran’s hospital in the Midwest United States. Each participant was
evaluated for PTSD based on the criteria laid out in the DSM-5.
Once this evaluation was complete, they completed two inventories.
The first inventory is the Mentoring and Communication Support
Scale (MCSS). The MCSS is used to assess the amount of social
support a person feels from their workplace. The second inventory
is the Job in General (JIG). This inventory seeks to evaluate the
amount of satisfaction that a person finds in their job. The
researchers used a multiple regression analysis to evaluate all these
variables. The results indicated that PTSD symptoms were much less
prominent in veterans that had high job satisfaction and a high
amount of social support from their job (Harris et al., 2017). b
b b b b b b These articles are interesting to think about.
The relationship between occupation and PTSD is unclear. On one
side of it, it appears the job can cause a person to develop
PTSD. However, on the other side, it seems that the job helps to
alleviate PTSD symptoms for others.
References
Harris, J. I., Strom, T. Q., Ferrier-Auerbach, A. G., Kaler, M. E.,
Hansen L. P., & Erbes, C. R. (2017). Workplace social support in
job satisfaction among veterans with posttraumatic stress symptoms:
A preliminary correlational study. PLoS One, 12(8).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181344 Links to an external site.
Levi, P., & Moss, J. (2022). Intensive care unit nurses’ lived
experiences of psychological stress and trauma caring for COVID-19
patients. Workplace Health and Safety. https://doi-
org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1177%2F21650799211064262
