Teachers in hospital kindergarten ward are a key component of the healthcare and educational system. They encounter demanding and complex tasks daily, requiring a high level of professionalism, empathy, and a sense of responsibility from them. Such work brings numerous challenges, among which one of the most common and significant is stress. It can originate from various factors, such as psychological and physical strain, responsibility towards children, constant changes in the workplace, spatial and staffing constraints, deaths, instability of children, and more. The stress experienced by teachers has significant consequences on their psychological and physical health, while also negatively impacting their quality and performance in the workplace. However, there are differences among individuals in their ability to manage stress, which is associated with the concept of resilience. Resilience denotes an individual's ability to effectively cope with stressful and unexpected situations while maintaining their well-being and quickly returning to previous states or adapting to new circumstances. Understanding stress, developing resilience, and continuous professional development significantly contribute to maintaining and improving the quality of pedagogical work and ensuring the well-being of employees in hospital departments.
In this master’s thesis we investigated how kindergarten teachers in hospital ward cope with stress, and we conducted a research study which involved 18 respondents and 9 interviewees. We aimed to determine the stressors present in their work, how stressful their work is, and how they develop resilience within themselves. We were also interested in their views on resilience and professional development. Through the survey, we gained a general insight into the stressfulness of their work, and then through interviews, we delved deeper and obtained a more detailed and personal insight from everyone.
The results showed that the perception of stress is strongly associated with work experience, hospital ward, and the personality traits of the individual teachers. The more experience teachers have, the less stress they experience. This is influenced by experience, adaptability, endurance, responsibility, resilience, and a desire for professional development. Teachers perceive themselves as resilient, which is evident in their desire to seek new solutions, understand their emotions and responses to unpredictable situations. Despite accepting difficult situations as part of their work, they are often emotionally affected by them. They emphasize the importance of quality, authentic, and collaborative relationships within pedagogical and healthcare teams in individual departments.
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