Hi all,

I've just posted a section on Stress Management on www.emergency-
nurse.org, and I'd like to put a few pages together with details on
how ER nurses cope with stress for other to read and hopefully
benefit from.

The question is - how do you deal with stress where you work? What
coping mechanisms do you use and what works and doesn't work?

To kick the discussion off, one of my personal coping mechanisms is
to stop everything for 5 minutes and take stock (the fact I smoke
helps as it's an excuse to leave for a few minutes!). Leaving the
department in the hands of the second senior nurse for a few minutes
works wonders, and when I come back I'm good to go! What doesn't
work for me is to keep going and going with no breaks at all.

Looking forward to hearing what you do!

Regards,

Damien van C.
Listowner