Superstitions among perioperative nurses

AORN Journal, May, 2005 by David L. Mandell, Margie L. Claypool, David J. Kay

RESEARCH QUESTION 2. The second research question asked, "Is there a difference in the amount of work-related superstitious belief based on the age of perioperative nurses?" There was no significant difference in age among those participants who did and did not believe in each of the 15 individual superstitions in the survey; however, those participants who viewed themselves as generally superstitious were significantly younger (mean age = 46 years) than those who did not consider themselves to be generally superstitious (mean age = 51 years), even after time authors adjusted for multiple comparisons (P = .0176).

RESEARCH QUESTION 3. The third research question asked, "Is there a difference in the amount of work-related superstitious belief based on years of work experience in perioperative nursing?" After adjusting for multiple comparisons, there was no difference in time duration of years worked as a perioperative nurse among participants who did and did not believe in each of the 15 individual, work-related superstitions in the survey. In addition, there was no significant difference in the duration of years worked as a perioperative nurse among those participants who viewed themselves as generally superstitious and those who did not. The P values for all 16 items were greater than .05 (range .10 to .95).

RESEARCH QUESTION 4. The fourth research question asked, "Does belief in work-related superstitions differ between perioperative nurses who view themselves as generally superstitious and those who do not?" Participants who considered themselves to be generally superstitious were significantly more likely to believe in the following superstitions:

* the full moon worsens stress/workload (P = .0155),

* rain worsens stress/workload (P = .03),

* diseases or admissions come in "threes" (P = .009),

* certain ORs or wards are haunted (P = .0345),

* certain nurses have black clouds (P = .06), and

* lucky scrubs or good luck charms are useful in the OR (P = .0015).

These findings held true even after Bonferroni's correction was made.

DISCUSSION

There are several potential reasons for the prevalence of work-related superstitions among health care providers. Superstitions may help account for unexpected, arbitrary variations in workload, as is seen in unpredictable environments. (1) Superstitious beliefs may allow health care workers to explain away uncontrollable elements that jeopardize their well-being, allowing them to feel a sense of control over and understanding of their environment. (1) Superstitions among health care workers may be a way to see humor in adversity, decrease stress, serve as a defense mechanism to protect workers when they experience a lack of control, and serve as a scapegoat for any situation perceived as unlucky. (4) One ED physician has identified his own unease with the unpredictable, uncontrollable dynamic of emergency medicine as the source of his own superstitions, which he described as bad logic rather than bad luck. (1) The results of this study confirm time suspicion that nurses, like other practitioners of high-stress, unpredictable work, are vulnerable to superstitious beliefs.