To explore the relationship between individual resilience, work stress, and work engagement among nurses in Emergency Department.

A questionnaire survey was conducted on 350 nurses from six Class Ⅲ Grade A hospitals in Shandong Province from April to September 2022, using the General Information Questionnaire, the Chinese version of the Stressor Scale for Emergency Nurse, the Chinese version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, and the Medical Staff Composition Resilience Scale. Pearson correlation was used to analyze the correlation between nurse work stress, work engagement, and individual resilience. The structural equation model was constructed using a mediating effect testing program to analyze the relationships between variables.

A total of 350 questionnaires were distributed, and 330 valid questionnaires were collected, with an effective response rate of 94.28%. The scores of nurse work engagement, work stress, and individual resilience were (54.26±10.08), (77.36±25.48), and (67.76±12.33), respectively. Work stress was negatively correlated with work engagement and individual resilience (all P<0.01), while individual resilience was positively correlated with work engagement (P<0.01). Individual resilience was a mediating variable between work stress and work engagement among nurses in Emergency Department, with a mediating effect accounting for 31.38% of the total effect.

Most nurses of Emergency Department have moderate levels of work stress, work engagement, and individual resilience. Individual resilience partially mediates the relationship between work stress and work engagement among nurses in Emergency Department. Nursing managers should attach importance to the organizational culture atmosphere and develop corresponding measures to enhance the individual resilience of nurses and encourage them to be energetic and enthusiastic in their work.

Emergency Department; Nurses; Individual resilience; Work engagement; Work stress; Mediating effect