Relationship of Stress Coping Behaviors and Changes in Resilience during an Integrated Nursing Practicum

This study aims to clarify what kinds of resilience and coping strategies students employ to successfully complete their clinical practicum and provide suggestions for instruction that will allow students to carry out effective learning activities. The study subjects were 86 students enrolled at Nursing University A for the 2019 school year and planning to take the integrated nursing practicum. The survey was conducted using an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to determine the amount of change in resilience factors from the surveys before and after the practicum. Subsequently, multiple regression analysis was carried out with stress coping behaviors that were significantly associated with resilience factors in univariate analysis as independent variables and the amount of change in resilience factors before and after the practicum as dependent variables. A total of 56 responses were received (response rate 65.8%) from the 85 survey subjects. Innate resilience factors increased significantly from 41 pre-practicums to 44 post-practicums. Acquired resilience factors also increased significantly from 32 pre-practicums to 35 post-practicums (p < 0.01). The results of multiple regression analysis found that the stress coping behavior of “changing point of view” (β = 0.361, p < 0.01) and pre-practicum innate resilience factors (β = −0.456, p < 0.01) were significantly associated with innate resilience factors. Examining the relationship between the amount of change in student resilience and stress coping behaviors revealed that the stress coping behavior of “changing point of view” was associated with innate resilience. This finding suggests that resilience may be increased by changing one’s perspective on an event by taking on a new way of thinking. The results suggested that helping students transform realizations made during reflection into learning and create a sense of meaning may lead to fostering innate resilience during integrated nursing practicums.

Resilience as a strategy for struggling against challenges related to the nursing profession

Stressors, such as work overload, role conflicts, lack of time, lack of self-care, poor job-related interpersonal relationships, feeling powerless to provide quality care, struggling with competing demands,death, conflict with doctors, peers and supervisors, and inadequate emotional preparation, can be negative, stressful, traumatic, or difficult situations or episodes of hardship for nurses. Situations or episodes of these types can also cause both physical and mental problems, such as fatigue, irritability,lack of concentration, unhappiness, depressive sensation, depersonalization, and emotional exhaustion.Despite all of these challenges, resilience enables nurses to cope with their work environment and to maintain healthy and stable psychological functioning. The aim of this review is to describe the concept of resilience, explain characteristics with which it is related and outline interventions to increase the resilience of nurses.

Effects of Training to Improve Novice Nurses’ Sense of Coherence

Background: Our previous research concerned the relation between Sense of Coherence, workplace stress, and burnout for nurses in their first three years of work. We found that their psychological state in the first three months on the job was particularly critical to their success and retention. As workplace stress increased over their first three years, their Sense of Coherence declined, and their burnout increased. Follow-up interviews after five years revealed the importance of identifying role models early on and feeling their own growth in the responses of their patients. Based on these findings, in 2015 we instituted a program to improve new nurses’ Sense of Coherence. The present research was to evaluate the effectiveness of this training program. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a training program in raising Sense of Coherence. Method: From June of 2015 to March of 2017, we surveyed Sense of Coherence of 137 new nurses who completed our training program, comparing them to a cohort of 960 nurses whom we had studied in 2010-11 without such a training program. We analyzed their responses using SPSS Version 24.0, taking a probability of less than 5% to be significant. Results: In terms of Sense of Coherence, the training program improved new nurses’ “comprehensibility” and “manageability” in the first three months, but both dropped to levels comparable to the untrained nurses after six months. There was no significant difference in “meaningfulness”, which dropped over the first year in both groups. Categorized into three groups according to SOC score at the time of employment in the intervention group, 36 participants were classified into the low score group, 41 participants were classified into the medium score group, and 44 participants were classified into the high score group. Then changes in SOC in each group were then compared. In the LOW group, the scores for “comprehensibility”, “manageability”, and “meaningfulness” increased significantly throughout the year, while in the HIGH group, scores decreased significantly. Conclusions: Our training program did raise new nurses’ sense of growth over the first year, and significantly improved their “comprehensibility” and “manageability” over the first three months. However, the fact that their Sense of Coherence dropped to control group levels after six months suggests the need for further intervention to maintain “comprehensibility” and “manageability” over the longer term. In the LOW group, the scores for “comprehensibility”, “manageability”, and “meaningfulness” increased significantly throughout the year, however, the total SOC score for the LOW group remained low throughout the year. Thus, additional support is needed over-and-above the training presented in this study for those nurses with low SOC scores at time of employment.

Quality of life among women with breast cancer living in Wuhan, China

Background:Quality of life is an important indicator in patients with breast cancer.Studies here reported that the quality of life in patients with breast cancer is low and many factors contribute to this poor quality of life.Purpose:To examine the relationships among demographic characteristics,optimism,social support,illness related factors,appraisal of illness,coping strategies and the quality of life of Chinese women with breast cancer residing in Wuhan,China.Methods:A convenience sample of 156 Chinese women with breast cancer was recruited from five teaching hospitals in Wuhan,China.Participants completed the Revised Life Orientation Test,the Perceived Social Support Scale,the Symptom Distress Scale,the Appraisal of Illness Scale,the Medical Coping Modes Questionnaire,and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast.Path analysis was used to examine factors influencing quality of life.Results:Significant relationships were found between optimism,symptom distress,social support,appraisal of illness,a give-in coping mode and quality of life.Optimism,social support,symptom distress,lymph node status,appraisal of illness,and a give-in coping mode accounted for 66.6%of the variance in quality of life.Conclusions:The findings of this study underscore the importance of helping women reduce symptoms distress,appraise their illness positively,use less negative coping modes,and maintain optimism,maintain good social support,because all of these factors indirectly or directly affect their quality of life.