Mindful Moments: Use of Mindfulness to Reduce Stress and Alleviate Burnout among Nurse Practitioners

Background: Nurse practitioners have significant responsibilities for providing optimal care for acutely ill-patients, which can result in potentially harmful physical and psychological stress. Practicing mindfulness can help reduce stress and build resilience among nurses. Objectives: To explore the feasibility of a brief mindfulness technique to reduce stress and burnout among Nurse Practitioners. Design: Pilot DNP project, pre-test, post-test. Methods: Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI), and a demographic questionnaire were administered at pre-intervention and at 10 weeks (post-intervention) to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief mindfulness intervention. The feasibility of the using Headspace application was assessed with a Likert scale. Results: Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI), a demographic questionnaire, was administered at pre-intervention and at ten weeks (post-intervention) to evaluate the effectiveness of brief mindfulness inter. Significant declines were found for total stress (t = 5.38, p = .001; z = 3.15, p = .002), client-related burnout (t = 4.94, p = .001; z = 3.05, p = .002), and work-related burnout (t =3.93, p = .002; z = 2.84, p = .005). However, no significant change in personal burnout was found (t = 1.33, p = .206; z = 1.29, p = .196). The feasibility of Headspace application use showed that 57.1% of participants either agreed or strongly agreed to use the mindfulness application in the future Conclusion: As the benefits of intervention are highlighted in the literature and from this pilot project, there is growing evidence that mindfulness can benefit nurses by decreasing stress levels and addressing work-related burnout