#DiscoverWithVSU: Nurse Stress Linked to Quality of Patient Care

In a field where compassion can be as important as clinical skill, a study from a faculty researcher at Visayas State University (VSU) sheds light on the emotional toll on nurses and how it affects their ability to care. 

Mr. Christian Vie P. Baldonado of the VSU Faculty of Nursing conducted a research that looked into the impact of job-related stress on nurses working in a government hospital. 

His findings paint a clear picture that when nurses are overwhelmed, it is not just their mental well-being at risk, but also the experience and satisfaction of the patients under their care. 

The study explored the connections between stress, caring behavior, and how patients perceive the service they receive. 

It revealed that high levels of job stress can dull the caring touch that nurses are expected to deliver that lead to a noticeable drop in patient satisfaction. 

In other words, the emotional climate among hospital staff can ripple outward and shape the healing journey of every patient. 

While nurse burnout is a familiar topic in healthcare circles, Baldonado’s work presents a grounded view of how this plays out in the Philippines public health system, especially in government-run hospitals that often operate with limited manpower and resources. 

His research adds to a growing body of work that calls for better conditions for nurses not just for their own sake, but for the thousands of lives they help each day. 

The study arrives at a time when the healthcare system is still catching its breath from the COVID-19 crisis. 

For educators and hospital administrators, support for nurses must go beyond pay and benefits. It must also look at the day-to-day experience of stress that shapes how they interact with patients. 

Baldonado’s research speaks not only to policymakers but to future nurses as well where many of whom are now being trained in VSU. It is a reminder that while technical knowledge is taught in classrooms, empathy is honed in real-world settings where nurses, too, must feel seen, heard, and cared for. 

With growing demand for Filipino nurses abroad and at home, this kind of research deepens the conversation around what makes healthcare work and what keeps it from working. 

This article is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) 3: Good Health and Well-being; SDG 4: Quality Education, and; SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth.  

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