Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

An Assessment Of Nurses’ Experiences Of Work Related Stress Through Self-Reporting And Hair Cortisol Analysis, In A Metropolitan Hospital In Western Australia, Kim Oliver

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The aim of this study was to assess how years of experience and practice area influence work related stress amongst 1,200 nurses employed in a metropolitan hospital environment in Western Australia. A combination of self-administered questionnaires and hair cortisol, an objective stress biomarker, was utilised to measure stress levels and to relate these to practice area, age and experience. Questionnaire results indicated that there was a higher level of perceived stress for 40% of this cohort of nurses; the study methodology was able to unearth noteworthy factors within a local WA nursing population that impacted on their perceived stress. These …

‘Fighting A Losing Battle’: A Glaserian Grounded Theory Of Midwives’ Workplace Stress, Sadie Margaret Geraghty

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The development of the midwifery profession and the culture of childbirth are inevitably entwined from an historical perspective through to current day practice. Early written accounts describe the fifteenth century midwife as dealing with high maternal and child mortality rates, the invention of forceps, the rise of male obstetric practitioners, and the complex social and cultural changes of that era. The twenty-first century midwife faces challenges in Australia and worldwide, which are not dissimilar to our midwifery predecessors.

Midwifery clinical practice has become more complex due to the medicalisation of childbirth and 21st century lifestyles, which have contributed to a …