Teaching Mindfulness Techniques to Nursing Students for Stress Reduction and Self-care

This systems change project (SCP) was participatory action research based on a mindfulness intervention/teaching for reduction of stress and promotion of self-care in nursing students. The project was conducted a St. Catherine University as part of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program. Participants were twenty senior post-baccalaureate nursing students in their final semester of study. Research was conducted by the writer and consisted of two, 1 hour mindfulness interventions. Data were collected using the Perceived Stress Scale and Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale and analyzed using statistical hypothesis tests. Qualitative data was also collected. Results of the project were not statistically significant. Although no conclusions can be drawn from this SCP based on the data and small number of participants, valuable insights were gained. Based on the qualitative data, participants supported the use of mindfulness for stress reduction and found value in learning a technique for stress reduction