Running head: COPING WITH SURGICAL STRESS

Assess the Stress and Coping among Patients undergoing Cardiac Surgery at Selected Hospital of
Jeddah
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COPING WITH SURGICAL STRESS

Introduction
The global healthcare industry is changing on constant basis. There are different factors,
which are creating challenges and problems for the healthcare organizations. In the recent years
of technological advancement and globalization, it can be stated that number of patients is
increasing day-by-day. Moreover, different types of factors, such as shorter stays, loss of
autonomy, delays in payments, lack of feelings, and sleep disorders are affecting the
psychological balance and mental peace of the doctors. It is also important to discuss that doctors
need to take rest and maintain psychological sustainability in order to take responsibility and
justify job role significantly. It is identified that the surgeons of different fields suffer from high
stress and these aspects generally cause mistakes in the field of job. Now-a-days, majority of the
surgeons have become business orientated as they are oriented with own clinics and nursing
homes. Majority of the surgeons do not bother to join the public health care industry and
organizations due to comparative low pay structure and fixed job timing or working hours.
Business orientation is motivating the surgeons to be rich without focusing on the stress related
issues. In an addition, it is also important to discuss that different doctors or surgeons used to
take more number of cases comparing to the original capacity as it is causing psychological
conflict within doctors.
Research Problem
Surgeons are becoming sleep less. Moreover, the surgeons are suffering from critical
chronic stress, depression, divorce, anxiety and other related problems due to this. Therefore, it is
highly important for the readers and future surgeons to focus on some pre-cautionary methods in
order to overcome the possibility of this aspect. In an addition, it is also important to discuss that

COPING WITH SURGICAL STRESS

different organizations used to ensure effective and significant patient foot fall. On the other
hand, the administration department of the healthcare organizations are influencing several
organizations to encourage the surgeons financially. This particular aspect is not ethical.
Alternatively, the surgeons are also getting orientated with profit making activities and
commission approaches. In doing so, the surgeons as well as other doctors are failing to maintain
their work ethics. The number of surgical errors and mistakes is increasing rapidly due to
inadequate attention. It is highly important for the organizational leaders within the healthcare
industry to focus on effective and significant aspects, which may overcome these issues.
Rationale of the Project
It is vital to mention that chronic stress is not only affecting the psychological as well as
physiological sustainability of people, but also it is affecting the good health of patients.
Different individuals or patients have different perceptions regarding the surgery activities as
well as outcome of the surgery. Several patients have the fear of the effect of anaesthesia as they
are not aware of the impact. On the other hand, some patients undergo the trauma due to the
outcome and impact of the surgery activities. It is important for the readers and future
professionals to aware of different aspects regarding the chronic stress as it will help them to
somehow get habituated with the outcome. On the other hand, it is also important to mention
that different types of theories, consequences, and recommendations of the problems can be
determined through this assignment. Therefore, conduction of this particular research work is
rationale.

COPING WITH SURGICAL STRESS

4
Literature Review

Cardiac or heart diseases can be considered as one of the critical and life taking diseases
that is concerned by the doctors of this contemporary era. The medical science has developed
several innovative and useful approaches to save the lives of heart problems. Despite the
approaches, several cardiac surgeons are suffering from chronic disorders. It is true that heart is a
complicated and important organ within a human body. Therefore, heart surgeons always become
stressful and anxiety in surgical activities of heart. Several cardiac specialists suffer from limited
sleep, exhaust, lack of feelings and emotions, mental abnormality, and other mental as well as
physiological challenges. It is highly important to discuss that different cardiac specialists should
try to focus on these important activities as it is highly important for a doctor to maintain
workplace and job ethics. It is the responsibility of a doctor to save the life of a patient till the
last try. Hence, it will be considered as wrong doing if the doctors lose hope and focus on other
business oriented activities (Spiliopoulos, 2014). Apart from the cardiac surgical incidents, the
burnout syndrome also referred as a critical disease that generally cases chronic stress for
doctors. It is very much identical that doctors are also human beings. Therefore, they also have
some physiological as well as psychological orientations. It is highly important to discus,
different types of effective and significant professional codes need to be followed and applied
throughout the career by the doctors and specialists in order to maintain sustainability within the
entire healthcare industry.
An example of a serial killer from Maharashtra can be considered here. The serial killer
was a specialist doctor and used to run his clinic for a long 25 years. However, he kept a nurse
and assistance in his firm or clinic. It was a small clinic. He was highly professional and skilled
doctor. Moreover, it is highly important to mention that the doctor was popular within the

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locality and region due to his professionalism and skills. However, in the year 2016 it has been
investigated that the doctor is a cold blooded serial killer and he killed almost 16 women through
the assistance of his nurses. In the interrogation, he admitted her crime and accepted that he was
suffering from mental abnormality. Moreover, the investigating police department came to know
that the relationship between him and his wife was not healthy, peaceful and sustainable. Most
importantly, the police department came to know that in last few years he hated women due to
the ongoing conflicts with his wife. In terms of medical investigation, he was suffering from
chronic stress and mental disorder as he always aimed on earning huge amount of money.
Therefore, he left his peaceful public healthcare department job, which was offered by the state
government. This particular example can prove that the doctor was not normal in his minds and
failed to cope up with the ongoing chronic stress.
In some cases, the surgeons cannot sleep properly due to the emergency services as well
as thinking about the dangerous symptoms of the patients. Therefore, t can be stated that the
patients need to be taken care of quite systematically. On the other hand, it is also important for
the administration department of the healthcare organizations to focus on effective and
significant approaches that can sustain the mental as well as physiological balance of the
surgeons and specialists. In an addition, it is also important to mention that different types of
mistakes are taking place in the surgical activities. These mistakes include lack of competence of
doctors, lack of knowledge of staffs, inadequate job responsibility of nurses, and lack of welfare
activities. It is highly important and effectual to mention that different types of applicants and
employees are becoming professionals within the healthcare organizations. The, human resource
department professionals, recruiters, and administrators are not on the knowledge and
competency level of the fresh applicants. This particular aspect is causing different types of

COPING WITH SURGICAL STRESS

hazards, which are causing death of the patients. Therefore, the family members of the patients
raise their voice against the entire healthcare organization. Inadequate administration process
often hampers the motivation, self-confidence, and flexibility level of skilled doctors. This can
cause a serious chronic stress for the knowledgeable surgical stress.
It is also effectual to state that different doctors and practitioners do not like to participate
in different associated activities that are necessary in the surgical activities, such as giving
anaesthesia and many more can affect the self-control of the doctors. The specialists and doctors
may go through serious trauma if they do these works repeatedly day-after-day. Alternatively, it
is also important to mention that the doctors and healthcare professionals need to focus on
effective and significant stress overcoming strategy for patients as the patients are usually
confronted with several stress multitudes before the surgery. Apart from this, it is also important
to mention that patients fear about the outcomes and consequences of the surgery, which causes
chronic stress (Krohne, 2000), apart from the mental threats, these aspects also can harm the
physical sustainability of the doctors and the practitioners. Now-a-days, several surgeons are
suffering from the critical diseases, such as respiratory arrest, cardiac arrest, cancer, trauma,
stress, mental abnormality, sleep disorder and others due to the growing workplace chronic stress
within the hospitals. It is vital for them and the organizational members to focus on these
conflicts in order to maintain sustainability.
It is highly important for the practitioners and other related individuals to recommend
some useful approaches to the doctors and surgeons in order to reduce and overcome the
possibilities and effects of chronic stress and surgical trauma. First of all, it is highly important
for the doctors and important stakeholders of each and every healthcare organization to focus on
effective and significant internet sources. It is important to state that some surgical doctors or

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specialists may feel disappoint or unprepared to some asked questions of the patients. This aspect
also increases the chronic stress. The doctors can go through related online internet sources in
order to overcome this particular challenge. In an addition it is also important to mention that
internet surfing and online orientation during the leisure time can help doctors to growth their
knowledge and level of competency.
Apart from internet sources, it is also important for the doctors and surgical specialists to
focus on effective and significant approaches from the multimedia mobile phones and smart
phones. It is true that different types of innovative surgical instruments and high technological
equipments are manufactured each and every year. However, it is highly important to know that
several patients feel uncomfortable during the surgeries as they are not familiar with the effect of
surgery and anaesthesia. This particular aspect can cause death, panic, cardiac arrest, high
pressure and late recovery from the surgery (Aust, 2016). Constant mobile surfing during the
leisure time can help the doctors to influence the hospital administration department to outsource
the equipments and instruments as these will help the doctors and surgeons to reduce individual
stress work load.
It is clear from above discussion that chronic stress can be considered as one of the major
reasons behind the growing ongoing problems. Lack of sleep and other factors are the root cause
of these diseases, but it is also important to mention that there are some doctors, who are lacking
in knowledge level, skill level, and competency level. It is also important to mention that
different types of effective and significant communication approach between the patients and
doctors can enhance the overcoming strategy of these disorders. The administration department
also needs to focus on effective and significant unique strategy development as well as
application process. Alternative medicine and leisure period also can become fruitful for these

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diseases and stress level. It is true that doctors have to do the complicated job by healing the
wound and taking care of the human diseases. These aspects can help the doctors and surgical
specialists to cope up with the stress and difficulties.
It is also important for the administration department of the healthcare organizations to
focus on effective training and development process for the skilled doctors. It will help the
skilled and knowledgeable doctors in several ways. First of all, it will significantly help the
doctors to focus on the improvement of competency level during stress situation. A practical
workshop needs to be organized by the administrative department of a healthcare department to
overcome the challenges related chronic stress within the workplace. On the other hand, it is also
important for the administrators and top level management of the healthcare organizations to
focus on the effective and significant motivation process to motivate specialists not to panic
during the critical surgeries. In an addition, the organizations also should focus o working hours
and compensation distribution process of the employees. Last but not the least; it is highly
important for the organizational management to focus on the mechanisms, which can moderate
the impacts on psychological aspects regarding the occurring of the adverse events (Pinto, 2014).

COPING WITH SURGICAL STRESS

References
Aust, H. (2016). Coping Strategic in Anxious Surgical patients. BMC Health Services
Research, 16(1), 1492-1495.
Krohne, H. (2000). The Assessment of Surgery-Related Coping: The Coping with Surgical
Stress Scale (COSS). Psychology and Health, 15(1), 135-149.
Pinto, A. (2014). Acute traumatic stress among surgeons after major surgical complications.
The American Journal of Surgery, 208(1), 642-647.
Spiliopoulos, K. (2014). Chronic stress and coping among cardiac surgeons: a single centre
study. Rev Bras Cir Cardiovascular, 29(3), 3008-315.