Exploring stress and coping strategies in BSN students: A secondary analysis of a pilot study

Introduction: Nursing school is stressful mentally and physically due to the “fast-paced and emotional nature” of the field (Kumar, 2020, p. 1). Research shows that healthy stress coping is crucial to gaining knowledge and maximizing productivity (Chaabane, 2021).

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore students’ perceptions of stress during undergraduate nursing school and identify which coping style, emotional or problem management, they utilized the most. A secondary analysis of the data is aimed at identifying the most common coping mechanisms used by student according to gender and stress level identified.

Research questions: This secondary analysis is aimed to answer the following research questions:

1. What are the most common coping methods, emotion focused or problem focused, used by male students enrolled in a BSN nursing program as compared to females?
2. What are the most common coping methods used by students who report lower levels of stress (1-2) as compared to students who report higher levels of stress (4 or 5)?

Methods: After IRB approval, a descriptive cross-sectional survey research design was used to gain information from nursing students enrolled in one local university. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire identifying the level of nursing in which they were enrolled, gender, and perceived level of stress and the Academic Stress Coping Style inventory.

Results: A total of 117 students (N=117) of the 150 students enrolled in the local university BSN program participated in the study, a 78% participation. The subjects were both male (n=19) and female (n=98). The most used coping strategies among all levels of nursing students were emotion focused coping strategies. A small number of problem-focused coping strategies were also identified. Data analysis comparing coping strategies used by students based on the perceived stress level is still in progress.

Study Limitations: This study was conducted in a local university with a small sample of convenience hence findings are not generalizable. Students from each level in the BSN program participated in the study.

Discussion/ Implications for Practice/Future Research: The most common coping strategies used by the male cohort in this study were similar to those identified by the larger sample. The findings from his study support the findings from an earlier study conducted by Valdez Lopez (2022), nursing students most commonly used active emotional coping (60.4%) and problem solving (37.2%). Active emotional coping was identified as the primary coping strategy. Educating students on active problem focused coping and active emotion coping skills is needed before entering the nursing program. How to do this is the question. A longitudinal study following a single cohort from entry to graduation, to assess stress and coping within the nursing program is in progress. According to Timmins & Kalizar (2002), nurse educators need to educate students on positive coping strategies, ensure adequate support structures for clinical areas, availability of student counseling activities, and preceptorship programs.