Cultivating Undergraduate Nursing Students' Well-being and Resilience: Answering the Call to Action

Publication Date

Spring 2025

Presentation Length

Poster/Gallery presentation

College

Gordon E. Inman College of Nursing

Department

Nursing, School of

Student Level

Graduate

SPARK Category

Scholarship

Faculty Advisor

Elizabeth Morse

Metadata/Fulltext

Metadata ONLY

SPARK Session

Poster: Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Presentation Type

Poster

Summary

Background: Demonstrating healthy self-care behaviors is a competency requirement for all graduates of accredited BSN programs. Mindfulness is an evidence-based self-care strategy known to enhance well-being and resilience by fostering self-compassion, perseverance, self-awareness, and self-efficacy. Additionally, mindfulness improves stress response, focus, and performance. However, gaps in an existing BSN curriculum limit students' development of healthy habits and self-care competencies. Purpose: This quality improvement project aimed to integrate mindfulness strategies into a BSN curriculum to support nursing student well-being. The initiative utilized Headspace, a mindfulness app, to provide students with accessible and portable tools for stress management and self-care. Design and Methods: A phased quality improvement design guided by a socio-ecological framework facilitated the integration of multi-level interventions, including staggering academic stressors and sequencing mindfulness practices, creating a more supportive infrastructure for cultivating resilience. Ongoing mixed-method evaluations assessed faculty and student experiences with the curricular innovation, guiding improvements, scalability, and sustainability efforts. Results: Analytics data from Headspace indicated consistent independent app usage among students and faculty. Qualitative feedback from faculty highlighted the feasibility and value of incorporating mindfulness practices using Headspace. Student feedback revealed that regular mindfulness practice improved focus, reduced stress and anxiety, and enhanced confidence and self-efficacy. Conclusion: The emergence of nursing burnout is at a critical high, posing a threat to nurse wellness, the stability of the profession, and safe patient care. Nursing students’ development of healthy self-care behaviors is essential to mitigate these threats and bolster a more sustainable workforce. Integrating multi-level strategies in a BSN curriculum supports students’ development of healthy habits and fosters a culture of wellness, resilience, and professional sustainability in nursing education.

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