Experience of an 8-Week Online Mindfulness Intervention for Nursing Students: Qualitative Findings.

Background: Nurses returning to school often have stressors of work, family, and other obligations. Strategies are needed to mitigate the additional stress and promote academic success. Mindfulness is one proposed strategy.

Purpose: The purpose was to explore the experience of students participating in an 8-week mindfulness intervention.

Methods: A mixed-methods descriptive study used an emailed survey link with 13 open-ended questions at intervention completion. Interpretive description guided the qualitative analysis. Participant retention, reported practice frequency, and written feedback were analyzed for feasibility and acceptability.

Results: Twenty-six participants completed the survey. Time commitment, increased awareness, focus and concentration, and enhanced coping were identified themes. Findings supported the impact of mindfulness on student stress, anxiety and cognition, as well as acceptability and feasibility.

Conclusions: An online mindfulness program appeared effective, feasible, and acceptable. Qualitative findings informed the quantitative outcomes. Nursing faculty can impact student stress and academic success through mindfulness with their teaching.