OBJECTIVES: Since the existence of work-related stressors is inevitable in nurses' workplace, nurses usually use a variety of coping strategies which can be called cognitive, affective, and behavioral techniques. In this study, we aimed to explore the coping strategies employed by the Iranian clinical nurses in depth. METHODS: This work was a qualitative study using Straus and Corbin's grounded theory approach focusing on the process of coping with job stress used by Iranian clinical nurses. RESULTS: The results of the present qualitative study indicate that the core category was "on the route to coping" which contained six categories comprising work management, self-control, emotional, spiritual, cognitive, and interactional strategies. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that in nursing it is inevitable that different kinds of strategies are used to cope with the many stressors. The conceptual model emerging from the data indicate that nurses are engaged in a dynamic process of struggling to cope with job stressors. In fact, they are "on the route to coping" with the job stressors. Considering the high level of stress in the nursing profession, the findings of this study have implications for both hospital managers and Iranian clinical nurses.
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