Academic Stress: Coping Strategies by Nursing Students

Abstract

Students across a wide range of industries and educational levels frequently feel academic stress. It is defined as the body's and mind's reaction to the demands and strains of education, such as homework, projects, exams, and clinical training. Particularly when it comes to juggling the demands of their education and their clinical training and practicum, nursing students confront special stresses. To uncover practical coping mechanisms that assist nursing students in their academic endeavors, this study examines the coping mechanisms used by these students to deal with academic stress. Data were gathered from 196 nursing students at St. Michael's College of varying academic levels using a descriptive-correlational study approach. The study looks at how respondents' characteristics, academic stress, and the coping mechanisms they use—such as problem-, emotional-, and avoidant-focused coping mechanisms—relate significantly. The results add to the understanding of how nursing students cope with academic stress by highlighting the importance of including stress management programs into the nursing curriculum to teach a variety of student-specific coping mechanisms. A preliminary investigation including thirty-two nursing students yielded significant information for improving the research questionnaire. Results revealed that there exist notable differences in the academic pressures experienced by the respondents when classified based on their profile. The stresses related to personal time management do not significantly differ according to age, sex, parental marital status, or family rank, except for year level, where fourth-year students exhibit greater stress levels. However, there are notable differences in the stresses associated with academic burden according to age and year level. Participants who are 20 years of age or younger report feeling less stressed than older participants, while first-year students report feeling more stressed than second- and third-year students. In conclusion, the results show that year level and age have a major impact on the stress that academic overload causes for the respondents. To lessen academic stress and improve students' general well-being, recommendations include encouraging peer-to-peer connection to create a friendly environment in educational institutions and advocating for self-care techniques. Important insights from nursing students helped to improve the research technique. One suggestion is to create a welcoming atmosphere in educational institutions by encouraging self-care behaviors and peer-to-peer engagement lessen the burden of school and improve the general wellbeing of children. These suggestions are pertinent to nursing educators and educational establishments that aim to provide nursing students with all-encompassing assistance in efficiently handling academic stress, therefore enhancing their general welfare and scholastic achievement.