Exploring Meditation Profiles and Predictors in Nursing Students

Abstract

Background: Nursing students face unique academic and clinical workloads linked to increased stress. Previous studies indicate formal and informal mindfulness meditation provide stress-reducing benefits. This practice aligns with holistic nursing core values of self-care and self-reflection; little is known about meditation practice in nursing students. Objectives: Our study aimed to describe meditation practice and predictors in pre-licensure nursing students. Design: Cross-sectional, multi-site. Methods: Qualtrics surveys queried individual demographics, personal meditation and exercise habits, and indicators of wellbeing. Results: Of 417 participants, 65% (n = 271) reported at least one type of meditation practice. Prayer/spiritual activities were most prevalent (almost 70%), followed by breathing exercises (41%). Meditators reported good or excellent self-rated health status or engaged in exercise (p < .05). Meditators also reported more self-compassion, happiness, and satisfaction with life, and perceived less stress than non-meditators (p < .05). Of all factors studied, only engaging in exercise significantly predicted practicing meditation (OR = 2.05, 95%CI 1.10-3.82). Conclusion: Nursing students who engage in meditation report signs of health and well-being and utilize holistic methods such as prayer and breathing. The intrinsic motivation to engage in healthy habits such as exercise may also help students engage in mindfulness meditation and is an important finding for nursing educators.

Self-Compassion and its Relationship with Patient Care Practices among Nurses

“…The findings revealed a positive association between self-compassion and patient care practices, aligning with previous literature indicating that self-compassion training enhances nurses' resilience, reduces burnout, and enables them to provide more compassionate care (17,18). Engaging in self-compassion practices is crucial for improving nurses' well-being and their professional quality of life, ultimately benefiting patient care (19). Group differences based on marital status indicated that unmarried nurses scored higher on self-compassion and patient care practices than married nurses.…”

The Association of Self-Compassion with Depressive Temperament and Reading Habit

“…Johnson et al [7] investigated 417 nursing students from the viewpoint of mediation activities, such as mindful meditation, guided imagery, relaxation techniques, yoga with a focus on breathing, breathing exercises, prayer, and other spiritual activities. Johnson et al [7] found that 271 (65%) students reported meditation where the mediating students showed more self-compassion, happiness, and satisfaction with life and perceived less stress in comparison to students who did not meditate. Therefore, mediating habits may increase self-compassion.…”