Computer-aided self-observation psychological stressors in an ICU.

We have developed a procedure for a computer-aided self-observation method in stressful situations. Staff members of an ICU recorded their experiences on a computer placed in the ICU, immediately after having experienced a stressful event. The computer asked for and stored psychologically relevant information about cognitive, affective and behavioural aspects. An external stress memory of an ICU was established, allowing a personal/institution-orientated stress diagnosis to be made on the basis of 192 episodes. Sixteen nurses in an intensive care unit in a Swiss hospital used this methodology for 12 weeks. One hundred and ninety-two stressful events were recorded (12 episodes per person), forming a good sample of the stressful episodes for the unit. To the same 16 nurses and 31 nurses at the same hospital (N total = 47) the Nursing Stress Scale was administered. The results from both groups showed that problems dealing with death and work load were predominant. Nurse characteristics such as levels of training (unskilled, skilled) and experience (number of years working as a nurse) were analysed by different statistical procedures and related to their stress experience.