Determination of perceived stress levels and coping styles of physicians and nurses working in A public hospital

Physicians and nurses are considered among the stressful occupational groups due to their field of work. Therefore, determining stress levels and the methods they use to cope with stress has gained importance especially during the pandemic period when the study was carried out. This descriptive type of research was conducted to determine the perceived stress levels and coping styles of physicians and nurses working in a public hospital. The universe of the research was determined by the physicians (N=2410) and nurses (N=3900) who were working at Ankara City Hospital in February 2021-April 2021; the sample was composed of physicians (n=130) and nurses (n=242) who agreed to participate in the study. In order to collect data, Personal Information Form, Perceived Stress Scale, Stress Coping Styles Scale were used. According to the data obtained, the Perceived Stress Scale scores of nurses were found to be higher than those of physicians (p<0.005). In the scores of physicians and nurses from the sub-dimensions of the Scale of Coping with Stress; Optimistic Approach sub-dimension scores of physicians and Helpless Approach and Submissive Approach sub-dimension scores of nurses were higher (p<0.005). It was determined that there was no statistically significant difference between the Self-Confident Approach and Seeking Social Support sub-dimension scores of physicians and nurses (p>0.05). As a result, it was determined that nurses' perceived stress levels were higher than physicians; it has been determined that nurses use ineffective methods more than physicians in coping with stress. It is recommended to compare the study by repeating it when the pandemic period ends and return to normal life, and that long-term psychosocial support programs be applied to nurses in particular to enable them to use effective coping methods.