Job stress is one of the most serious occupational hazards in the developed countries. It causes side effects for both, employees and the companies they work for. There is a very large number of definitions and models on job stress, with the transactional model being in the focus of the paper. According to this approach, stress is defined as the process in which numerous factors are involved such as: characteristics of the employees, their private life, jobs they perform and the characteristics of the organization in which they work. According to the transactional approach, stress is the result of the interaction of the characteristic of the employees and the organization within which it exists. Researchers within this area agree that the caregiving occupations are most exposed to the job stress. Taking into consideration that nurses are the largest group of the caregiving occupations, the aim of this study was to examine nurses job stress , the relationship between job stress and physical and mental health of nurses and the role that coping has in the process of stress. The total number of 404 nurses, from 27 different were included into the research. Measuring instruments used in the research were as follows: Questionnaire on the stressors in the workplace of hospital health care professionals, The scale of the perceived stress, Physical and mental health questionnaire (SF- 36), The scale of physical health (as part of the Standardized index of shift work), Questionnaire of coping with stress (COPE-short version) and the Questionnaire of the general data which is composed for the purpose of this research. The results showed that nurses who work in shifts are experiencing more stress when it commes to: organization/finance, dangers/hazards, evaluation of stress according to shiftwork and general experience of stress in comparison with nurses who have fixed working hours. Also they have greater subjective perception of stress in the workplace. Furtheremore, when it commes to the level of education, the results showed that low-level nurses education, experience more stress at work in the following aspects: dangers/hazards, shiftwork, work demands and the overall experience of stress at work. Also, they tend to use an avoiding strategies in coping with stress more that the ones with the higher level of education, have more gastrointestinal and cardiovascular difficulties, pain in the bones and muscles and lower general health assessments. Furthermore, the higher assessments of stress related to organization/finance, dangers/hazards, shiftwork, job demands and assessment of overall experienced stress were significantly associated with weaker mental health, more gastrointestinal and cardiovascular difficulties, pain in bones and muscles and weaker assessments of general health. Higher stress assessments related to the conflicts/communications were significantly associated with weaker mental health and more cardiovascular difficulties. When it comes to coping strategies, problem focused coping is associated with better mental health, less cardiovascular difficulties and pains in the bones and muscles and a higher assessment of general health. Avoidance is associated with weaker mental health, more gastrointestinal and cardiovascular difficulties and pains in the bones and muscles, as well as with a weaker assessment of general health. Higher subjective perception of stress is associated with weaker mental health, more gastrointestinal and cardiovascular difficulties and pains in the bones and muscles, as well as with a weaker assessment of general health. Significant predictors of mental health have shown to be coping strategy focused on avoiding and subjective perception of stress. Significant predictors of gastrointestinal difficulties have shown to be: experienced stress related to dangers and hazards at work, avoidance and subjective perception of stress. Significant predictors of cardiovascular difficulties have shown to be avoidance and subjective perception of stress. Significant predictors of pains in the bones and muscles have shown to be: experienced stress related to conflicts and communication, shiftwork, problem focused coping, avoidance and subjective perception of stress. Significant predictors of general health have shown to be: experienced stress related to critisc and accusations, avoidance and subjective perception of stress.