Examination of the Effect of Self-Awareness Training and Practices on Nurses

Introduction: Self-awareness practices help nurses to cope with stressors leading to burnout, tension, and fatigue. Laboratory studies show that stress affects the organism through the adrenaline and cortisol hormones, whereas relaxation techniques are effective in coping with general anxiety. It is accepted that burnout occurs when proper and appropriate coping methods are not used especially in coping with against stress. Aim: It was aimed to decrease the stress and anxiety levels of nurses by training them about self-awareness practices and their effects on leadership characteristics in this study. Methods: The research was a quasi-experimental study. It was carried out between December 2015 and June 2016 in a private hospital located in the European part of Istanbul, which is affiliated to one of the largest healthcare groups of Turkey. The sample consisted of 37 nurses. Research group completed the six-week program. The data was collected using a questionnaire that includes questions related to participants' opinions about the study, Beck Anxiety Inventory and Maslach Burnout Inventory. The blood cortisol and serotonin levels were measured before and after training. The results of the research were evaluated by using the percentage, frequency, chi-square, Independence test, Kruskall Wallis and Wilcoxon tests on a computer program. Results: It was found that emotional exhaustion and depersonalization decreased after each test. There was a significant difference between the anxiety scores, however, anxiety scale score decreased in the first period after the training but increased in the following period. Besides both levels of cortisol and serotonin increased. Conclusion: In this study, it has been shown that the stress, anxiety and burnout levels of nurses who were trained about self-awareness changed