Job stress and its relationship with nurses' autonomy and nurse–physician collaboration in intensive care unit

Aims: To determine nurses' job stress and its relationship with professional autonomy
and nurse–physician collaboration in intensive care unit (ICU).
Background: Low professional autonomy, high job stress and lack of nurse–physician
collaboration can affect nursing care in ICU and the main reasons ICU nurses leave
the occupation or transfer to other clinical units.
Methods: A cross-sectional, correlational study was conducted on 398 nurses in
teaching hospitals in Urmia, Iran, in 2020. Data were collected using the Dempster
Practice Behaviors Scale, the Health and Safety Executive tool and the Jefferson
Scale of Attitudes toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration.
Results: The mean job stress (115.53 ± 12.42) and professional autonomy
(102.19 ± 11.88) of ICU nurses were ‘moderate’, and nurse–physician collaboration
(74.25 ± 5.10) was ‘good’. There was a positive relationship between professional
autonomy and job stress (r = .506) and nurse–physician collaboration (r = .242).
Professional autonomy was a predictor of job stress in nurses (p < .000), and work
experience in ICU can cause job stress in nurses (p = .024).
Conclusion: Increasing nurses' professional autonomy causes an increase in job stress
and improves nurse–physician collaboration in ICU.
Implications for Nursing Management: Nursing managers should implement practi-
cal strategies to improve nurses' autonomy, enhance nurse–physician collaboration
and decrease their job stress