The Role of Stress and Self-Care in Nursing Students

Abstract

Self-care is defined as choosing good behaviors to counter physical and emotional stress. The demanding nature of nursing leads to a self-care deficit, which inhibits how effectively nurses can provide patient care. Nursing education programs focus very heavily on academic achievement and skill attainment, while education on self-care is often not provided. Plans developed to evaluate and manage stress can provide insight into and help for the problems that nurses encounter. It is very important that students are helped to realize what their stressors are and appropriate ways in which to cope with them. By teaching students to recognize stress and develop effective coping mechanisms, we can help them potentially for the rest of their careers.