The Experience of Wellness and Self-Care for Graduating BSN Students

Résumé fourni par la source

The aim of this study was to explore how graduating prelicensure bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) students experience self-care and wellness, with the goal of informing future curriculum development. Nursing students face significant academic, emotional, and sociocultural pressures that heighten vulnerability to burnout. Despite widespread agreement that self-care is a professional expectation, little is known about the students’ experience within demanding programs. Guided by Orem et al.’s (2001) self-care deficit theory, a qualitative study using interpretive hermeneutic phenomenology was used to examine lived experiences of self-care and wellness. Sixteen graduating BSN students participated in in-depth, semistructured interviews. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed through iterative coding, team-based thematic analysis, reflexive dialogue, and member checking. An audit trail supported trustworthiness. Three themes emerged: (1) holistic self-care as a foundation for wellness, which described exercise, sleep, nutrition, mindfulness, prayer, and physical, emotional, and spiritual practices as essential stabilizing forces; (2) power and strain of social support, which highlighted family, peers, faculty, and faith communities as both protective and emotionally taxing; and (3) navigating academic pressure through adaptive coping, which captured students’ use of time management, boundary setting, and cognitive reframing to manage intensity. These themes illustrate wellness and self-care as a dynamic, continually negotiated process shaped by personal intention, relational context, and structural demands. Graduating BSN students view wellness as an evolving balance rather than a fixed state. Their experiences point to the need for nursing programs to move beyond viewing wellness as the student’s responsibility and toward creating cultures in which well-being is taught, supported, and professionally expected. Integrating reflective practice, supportive faculty behaviors, and accessible wellness resources may strengthen resilience and promote long-term professional sustainability.

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