CONTINUING EDUCATION
THE GOAL OF THIS STRESS MANAGEMENT CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAM is to help nurses and massage therapists better manage stress in patients and themselves. After studying the information presented here, you will be able to:
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Discuss three physiological responses to stressors Explain two ways to reduce patient stress
Describe three methods healthcare professionals can use to promote self-care and the reduction of physiological stress responses
By Connie Vogel, PhD, RN, CNS-BC, CNE
The nurse’s pager went off . His heart raced, his pupils di- lated and adrenaline spread throughout his body. Code blue room 16-S. Stress was part of his work life, and he thrived on it. But on his long drive home, stress showed its ugly side. The stop-and-go traffi c that stretched his commute to more than an hour left him exhausted and edgy. By the time he got home, he was so stressed he barely wanted to talk to his wife and children.
T
he physiological and psychological concept of stress dates back to the work of early 20th century physiologist Walter B. Cannon, who coined the
expression “fi ght-or-fl ight response.” Later, Nobel laureate Hans Selye built on the concept in his description of the general adaptation syndrome. Selye defi ned physiological stress as a chemical or p-hysical disturbance in the cells or tissues produced by a change in the external environment or within the body that requires a response to counteract the disturbance.1 Selye defi ned three stages in the general adaptation
syndrome: 1. The alarm stage, during which there is central nervous system arousal and the body’s defenses are mobilized as the fi ght-or-fl ight response
2. Resistance or adaptation, with an underlying mo- bilization that can fuel the fi ght-or-fl ight mechanism while some adaptation methods are tried
3. The exhaustion stage, when continuous stress causes the breakdown of compensatory mechanisms and homeostasis, leading to “dis-ease.”1
Selye understood that the stimulus (stressor) could come from the mind as well as from the external environment.
The planners and authors have declared no relevant confl icts of interest that relate to this educational activity. OnCourse Learning guarantees this educational activity is free from bias. See the page before the post-test to learn how to earn CE credit for this module.
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