f f 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).
f f f f f f f f f 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). f f
f f f f f f f f f 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
(Links to an external site.) f
