The effect of a stress management program on first-year nursing students’ clinical stress: A randomized controlled experimental study

Abstract

BackgroundClinical clerkships lie at the core of nursing education and are crucial for developing professional skills. However, nursing students, especially freshmen, often encounter significant stress during their clinical experiences. ObjectivesThis study investigated the effect of a stress management program on first-year nursing students' clinical stress levels. DesignThis randomized controlled experimental study adopted a pretest-posttest-follow-up test research design. Settings and participantsParticipants were recruited using simple randomization. The sample consisted of 64 first-year nursing students (intervention = 32; control = 32) from the nursing department of the faculty of health sciences of a university in Türkiye. MethodsParticipants were randomized into intervention and control groups. The intervention group attended a stress management program, one weekly session for five weeks (intervention). The research was conducted between 21.02.2022 and 20.05.2022. Data were collected using a personal information form, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Physio-Psycho-Social Response Scale, and the Coping Behavior Inventory. The data were collected pretest and posttest the intervention and two months follow-up test. The data were analyzed using the two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). ResultsThe changes in the Perceived Stress Scale mean scores, group*time interaction, were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The results showed that the changes in the Coping Behavior Inventory “problem-solving” subscale mean scores, group*time interaction, were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The multiple comparisons showed a statistically significant difference in posttest Physio-Psycho-Social Response Scale “social behavioral symptoms” and “emotional symptoms” subscale scores between the intervention and control groups (p < 0.05). The multiple comparisons showed a statistically significant difference in posttest Coping Behavior Inventory “problem-solving” and “avoidance” subscale scores between the intervention and control groups (p < 0.05). ConclusionThe stress management program helps first-year nursing students experience less stress and develop problem-solving skills before they perform clinical clerkships. It also allows them to suffer from fewer emotional and social behavioral symptoms and exhibit fewer avoidance behaviors.