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Patients undergoing surgery

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Stress and Coping in Nursing

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Abstract

Physical illness involves a deviation from homeostasis, the response to which in itself can be characterized as physiological stress (Clarke, 1984). In Chapter 7 we discussed the issues related to the patient’s psychological response to hospital admission. In this chapter we wish to examine the relationship of stress and coping to surgery and recovery. For the majority of people undergoing surgery, there is likely to be pre-existing disturbance of homeostasis and the problem which has caused that is the very reason for undergoing surgery. Leaving that aside, it is important to note that a surgical operation is trauma of a physical kind, albeit trauma inflicted under ideal and controlled conditions, and therefore in itself is a stressor. In man, stress is ‘an unavoidable consequence of surgery’ (Selye, 1976). ‘Surgery threatens homeostasis and elicits a stress response or the General Adaptation Syndrome’ (Marcinek, 1977). Schlaus and Pritchard (1949) cited by Janis (1958) classified stress situations as mild, moderate or severe. Surgical operations were classified within the severe category alongside the death of a loved one.

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Authors
  1. Roy Bailey
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  2. Margaret Clarke
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© 1989 Roy Bailey and Margaret Clarke

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Bailey, R., Clarke, M. (1989). Patients undergoing surgery. In: Stress and Coping in Nursing. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2941-9_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2941-9_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-412-33830-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-2941-9

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