This template is designed for Conestoga student use to support the writing process and not for assessment. The template was developed by Writing Services, The Library and Learning Services, Conestoga College (July 2021).
Mental Stress Nurses Experience in Covid-19
Introduction Paragraph
Hook/Grabber (introduce topic/grab reader’s attention)
Working as a frontline in a pandemic where you are unknown about the
health hazard related to the disease is stressful for the nurses
Background/context (Background about topic/relevance of the topic)
In spite of having little knowledge regarding the disease nurses provided
care to the patient with covid-19 during the pandemic by accepting all the
associated risks while experiencing trauma physically as well as mentally
(Rathnayake et al., 2021).
lack of personal protective equipment and unconventional practice to use
them have created psychological distress among nurses (LoGiudice &
Bartos, 2021).
Thesis (Topic + argument + main points)
Nurses who work as a frontline during the covid-19 outbreak have
experienced anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and burnout.
Body Paragraph (Anxiety)
Topic sentence (introduce the topic)
Working in a stressful environment has increased anxiety among nurses.
Evidence (quotation or paraphrase from research + citation)
Nurses said that their nervousness stemmed from a lack of information about
the illness and a fear of infecting their families in the early (LoGiudice & Bartos,
2021).
Analysis (explanation of why the evidence is significant to the paragraph’s topic)
Lack of information increase nervousness
Fear of infecting family members.
Additional evidence and analysis (if applicable)
This template is designed for Conestoga student use to support the writing process and not for assessment. The template was developed by Writing Services, The Library and Learning Services, Conestoga College (July 2021).
“The unknown has been difficult—an unknown path of disease progression,
unknown course of therapy/treatment,” said a nurse in a medical ICU at a
university medical facility (LoGiudice & Bartos, 2021).
Concluding Sentence
Lack of proper information in a working setup can affect nurses emotionally
causing nervousness and anxiety.
Body Paragraph (Post-traumatic stress disorder-PTSD)
Topic sentence (introduce the topic)
Traumatic events faced by a nurse in a working environment lead them to
psychological stress.
Evidence (quotation or paraphrase from research + citation)
Several work-related issues, like unsupportive management, understaffed
nursing units, increasing nursing tasks, and high nurse-to-patient ratios, have
been linked to emotional tiredness and PTSD causing a greater incidence of
PTSD among frontline workers (Handzel, 2022, para. 2).
Analysis (explanation of why the evidence is significant to the paragraph’s topic)
Increased nursing responsibility
Increased workload
Unsupportive management
Additional evidence and analysis (if applicable)
A cross-sectional survey of 56 nurses: as negative consequences of PTSD
symptoms 20.03% of nurses intend to leave due to unfavorable nurse practice
environment (Handzel, 2022, paras. 4-8).
Due to, directly and indirectly, exposure to the traumatic environment during
the care of patients 6.7% to 95.7% of nurses have one symptom of PTSD and
diagnosis occurs between 8.5% and 20.8% during their work-life (Marcomini et
al.,2021).
Concluding Sentence
Unfavorable working environments and practices can cause stress to nurses
which leads them to experience PTSD symptoms.
This template is designed for Conestoga student use to support the writing process and not for assessment. The template was developed by Writing Services, The Library and Learning Services, Conestoga College (July 2021).
Body Paragraph (Burnout)
Topic sentence (introduce the topic)
Adjustment to work in a condition with a limited supply of staff and sources has
caused burnout among nurses.
Evidence (quotation or paraphrase from research + citation)
Increased patient physical burdens result in severe burnout, which manifests
as emotional tiredness, depersonalization, and a reduction in personal
achievement (Jose et al., 2020).
Nurses encounter several organizational and clinical issues, placing a
significant strain on them and perhaps leading to burnout (Ghassemi, 2021).
Analysis (explanation of why the evidence is significant to the paragraph’s topic)
More physical burden
Several organizational changes
Additional evidence and analysis (if applicable)
Severe burnout was found to be 30 percent to 40 percent prevalent in spring
2020. Physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers in Canada had rates of
more than 60% by spring 2021 (Maunder et al., 2021).
Concluding Sentence
Sudden and uncertain changes like nurse-patient ratio, staffing in the working
area can cause burnout in Nurses.
Conclusion Paragraph
Restate thesis (reworded)
Anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and burnout are experienced by the nurses
working as a frontline in Covid-19.
Summary (reiteration, relationship, and/or significance of key points)
Work overload, unsudden changes in practice, and lack of proper knowledge in
the working field create psychological distress among nurses.
Clincher/call to action (connect to larger context/make recommendations)
This template is designed for Conestoga student use to support the writing process and not for assessment. The template was developed by Writing Services, The Library and Learning Services, Conestoga College (July 2021).
implementing stress management strategies in the working environment along
with the provision of proper management of staff will help to minimize the
psychological burden faced by nurses.
References
Rathnayake, S., Dasanayake, D., Maithreepala, D. S., Ekanayake, E., & Basnayake,
L. P. (2021). Nurses’ perspectives of taking care of patients with Coronavirus disease
2019: A phenomenological study. Plos one.
LoGiudice, J. A., & Bartos, S. (2021). Experiences of nurses during the COVID-19
pandemic: A mixed-methods study. AACN advanced critical care, 32(1), 14-26.
10.4037/aacnacc2021816
Handzel, S. (2022, March 2). What nurse leaders should know about PTSD in nurses
during COVID-19. Wolters Kluwer. https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-
insights/what-nurse-leaders-should-know-about-ptsd-in-nurses-during-covid-19
Marcomini, I., Agus, C., Milani, L., Sfogliarini, R., Bona, A., & Castagna, M. (2021).
COVID-19 and post-traumatic stress disorder among nurses: a descriptive cross-
sectional study in a COVID hospital. La Medicina del lavoro, 112(3), 241–249.
Jose, S., Dhandapani, M., & Cyriac, M. C. (2020). Burnout and resilience among
frontline nurses during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study in the
emergency department of a tertiary care center, north India. Indian journal of critical
care medicine, 24(11), 1081–1088. https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10071-23667https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257064https://doi.org/10.4037/aacnacc2021816https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-insights/what-nurse-leaders-should-know-about-ptsd-in-nurses-during-covid-19https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-insights/what-nurse-leaders-should-know-about-ptsd-in-nurses-during-covid-19https://doi.org/10.23749/mdl.v112i3.11129https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10071-23667
This template is designed for Conestoga student use to support the writing process and not for assessment. The template was developed by Writing Services, The Library and Learning Services, Conestoga College (July 2021).
Ghassemi, A. E. (2021). Burnout in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: the rising
need for the development of evidence-based risk assessment and supportive
interventions. Evidence-Based Nursing. 10.1136/ebnurs-2021-103438
Maunder, R. G., Heeney, N. D., Strudwick, G., et al., (2021). Burnout in hospital-
based healthcare workers during COVID-19. Science Briefs of the Ontario COVID-19
Science Advisory Table, 2(46). https://doi.org/10.47326/ocsat.2021.02.46.1.0https://doi.org/10.47326/ocsat.2021.02.46.1.0