NURSING STUDENTS’ LIVED EXPERIENCES OF ATTENDING A PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL STRESS MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME

Nursing is a stressful profession. Research indicates that nursing students, who may be inexperienced and still developing professional skills, may be particularly vulnerable to secondary stress. Psycho-educational stress management programmes could assist nursing students to address the challenges associated with secondary stress. This article reports on a qualitative study that explored 13 nursing students’ (female = 11, mean age = 19.38, range 18-22) lived experiences of attending a psycho-educational stress management programme. Data were collected by means of in-depth interviews and narrative sketches. A central theme emerged following the qualitative analysis, namely: a journey of personal development. The central theme is presented in terms of three subthemes, namely: (1) roadblocks and opportunities: Distressing and satisfying experiences, (2) the choice: disengagement of meaning, and (3) embracing resilience. Overall the findings indicate that the psycho-educational stress management programme served as a valuable approach to address secondary stress among nursing students. Limitations and avenues for further research are discussed.