[Comparative study on stress levels in young nurses in "rotating" and fixed job posts in Dix and Bayonne public hospitals].

This cross-sectional quantitative study, carried out in June 1997, compared the stress levels of nurses that had been certified for at least five years in either "rotating" jobs or in fixed jobs in the two public hospitals in Dax and Bayonne. The response rate to the self-administered questionnaire was 86.3% (n = 62). The overall score of stress levels (on the NSS scale of Gray-Toft) was 42.3 and 36.8 for the rotating nurses and the fixed nurses respectively (p < 0.05). This elevated level of stress is linked to the following situations: insufficient training, death and caring for the terminally ill (for which there was the most significant difference between rotating and fixed nurses), work load and lack of support. Only 27% of rotating nurses had chosen their jobs as such; 63% felt little or not at all integrated into a team, and despite a positive assessment of their health, 48.4% (as opposed to 19.4% with fixed jobs) feel exhausted at the end of the day. Many nurses (87%) made suggestions for relieving stress: increasing personnel, rearranging work schedules as well as a recognition of their work, including training (stress management) and the creation of support groups and psychological support.