Psycho-social working conditions of nursing, medical and paramedic staff in a hospital emergency department

Background: A hospital Emergency Department (ED) is a working place in which numerous working conditions evoke various organisational and operational stressors affecting medical staff working there. Aim of the study: Analysing the psycho-social working environment in nursing, paramedic and medical staff in a specific hospital ED and, in particular, examining 1) work requirements, 2) levels of control, 3) psycho-physical wellbeing and 4) changes expected by the staff. Material and methods: The research was conducted among 69 employees of ED (nursing, paramedic and medical staff) in the University Clinical Hospital in Opole. A standardized Psychosocial Working Conditions Questionnaire (PWCQ) was applied. Results: The average score were as follows: at the demands scale 94.99 points, at the control scale 59.26 pts, at the social support scale 48.94 pts, at the social support scale 48.94 pts, at desirable changes scale 75.32 pts. The length of service in the job correlated negatively with the support received at workplace (r= - 0.308, p=0.01). The necessity for changes at workplace was stronger in the residents of villages and towns below 100 000 residents (p=0.007). The material status of the respondents had a statistically significant correlation (p<0.05) with the answers collected in each PWCQ questionnaire subscale. The support received at workplace was significantly higher in the groups of paramedics (51.11±8.48) and doctors (52.95±13.66) than in nurses (44.39±10.26), p=0.005. Conclusions: Due to numerous stressors present at EDs and psycho-social working conditions, employers ought to make some effort to modify them.