The daily experiences in the nursing work: Navigating stressful challenges
Norah M Alyahya, Hanadi M AlmutairiBackground
Work-related stress is common among nurses, who are often particularly vulnerable to external factors. In Saudi Arabia, nurses face various demands related to recruitment, retention, and performance issues, which are often coupled with significant staff shortages, as well as having to manage the inherent perceived conflict in this region between nursing work and Saudi family culture.
Objective
This study seeks to explore nurses’ experiences of and perspectives on daily work challenges in the context of Saudi Arabian healthcare.
Methods
A phenomenological approach was used to analyse data from interviews with seven nurses currently working in Saudi Arabia.
Results
Analysis of the study data revealed three main themes: experiences of extended work hours and scheduling changes, impacts on participants’ social lives, and work demands and facilitation. Key stressors included role ambiguity, limited support, cultural expectations, inflexible scheduling, and unequal task distribution, which particularly affected female nurses.
Conclusions
The findings of this study highlight the need for a range of system-level reforms to support nurses’ mental wellbeing and professional development, including limiting working hours, enhancing nurse-to-patient ratios, enforcing fairer scheduling, creating structured orientation programmes, and developing well-defined role-specific job descriptions. Addressing the issues identified in this study directly in such a manner must be seen as essential in order to create and maintain a resilient nursing workforce and to ensure high-quality patient care.