Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic among Nurses in the New Normal: Perceived Stress Scale Measures

Two years after the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, the nursing workforce in the new normal still embraces the effect of the coronavirus pandemic. Nurses continuously address patients' health needs and provide quality nursing care. This study aimed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the new normal among Filipino nurses. This was a descriptive-correlational survey of 56 nurses recruited through a non-probability chain-referral sampling method. Each participant completed an online google form on sociodemographic characteristics and a validated instrument on perceived stress scale (PSS) measures. The results indicated that most of the respondents were 31-35 years old (41.1%), predominantly female (62.5%), and single (67.9%). BSN degree (94.6%) was the highest education level, had 1-5 years (46.4%) work experience, and the majority (87.5%) experienced handling patients with coronavirus disease. The majority (n=47, 83.9%) of the respondents showed a moderate level of stress while 3.6% (n=2) reported high-stress levels. The association of age (p-.383), gender (p=1.00), marital status (p=.277), and education level (p=.415, and work experience (p=.142) is not statistically significant to their level of stress (p=>0.05). Nurses have a moderate level of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study concluded that nurses have moderate stress facing the new normal. Therefore, hospital and nursing administrators should continuously provide support for their nurses. Sustainable availability of resources, effective stress management strategies, continuous update, and regular stress screening program are some of the desirable key measures to decrease stress levels. Further research is recommended in larger scope and population to establish the generalizability of findings. Keywords: New Normal, Stress Scale, COVID-19 Pandemic, Nurses