Two Cases of Nurses who Could not Carry Out Their Duties due to Stress after the Nuclear Accident

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  • 原発事故後のストレスにより職務が遂行できなくなった看護師の2例
  • 症例研究 原発事故後のストレスにより職務が遂行できなくなった看護師の2例
  • ショウレイ ケンキュウ ゲンパツ ジコ ゴ ノ ストレス ニ ヨリ ショクム ガ スイコウ デキナク ナッタ カンゴシ ノ 2レイ

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Abstract

Our hospital is a disaster medical center located 44 kms from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS). We report two cases of nurses who were not able to carry out their duties immediately after the nuclear accident. Case 1: A 32-year-old female nurse had been working after the nuclear accident. She sometimes experienced palpitation. On March 14, her parents took refuge at their relative's home in another district. After that, she had strong anxiety. She visited our department accompanied by her chief nurse in the morning of March 15. It appeared that she was not able to control her emotions. Her blood pressure was elevated to 175/104 mmHg. She was diagnosed as having acute stress reaction. Anti-anxiety medicine was prescribed, and she was instructed to take rest and to stay with her parents. After two weeks, she visited our clinic again and said that "I feel almost no anxiety now and I want to return to work and apologize to my colleagues for leaving the hospital". She returned to work at the same ward on April 18. Case 2 : A 24-year-old female nurse became mentally unstable and said that she wanted to quit her job on March 24. Her chief nurse brought her to our department. The patient said that two senior colleagues had not come to work on March 15 and that she was deeply shocked. She had loss of appetite, insomnia, and fatigue. She said, "Today, I am panicky and dizzy and I feel I don't care about anything". She was diagnosed as being in a burned-out state and was recommended to take days off. However she refused to take days off saying that "If I take days off, I will become the same as voluntary evacuees, and so I would rather quit my job". After consulting with the chief nurse, she was given three days off as a working shift and we prescribed her sleeping pills. She was given supportive psychotherapy and earned the gratitude of the chief nurse and nursing director by her work after nuclear accident. Without taking a sick leave, she recovered completely in three weeks. After the nuclear accident at FDNPS, our hospital staff had intense psychological stress due to the fear of radioactivity and the conflict relating to voluntary evacuation.

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