This descriptive study examines the application of stress management techniques by nursing students to their clients (i.e., patients, family members, friends) within a model holistic stress management nursing course. Out of 90 students, 88 completed a Client Teaching Relaxation Questionnaire during the course. Responses indicated a decrease in clients' perceived levels of discomfort following a stress reduction intervention (paired t = 18.7, df = 84, p <.0001). The students further reported that stress management skills were applicable to clients with a wide range of diagnoses in hospitals, homes, and other community settings. Imagery (52%) was documented as the predominant strategy taught to clients. Study results suggest that with teaching time allowed for self mastery during the course, students can successfully apply these simple to complex stress management skills to many different clients, enhancing the caring aspect for both client and student. The course presented in this study provided students with essential foundational skills necessary to deal with client stress.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Atsberger, D. B. (1995). Relaxation therapy: Its potential as an intervention for acute postoperative pain. Journal of Post Anesthesia Nursing, 10, 2-8.
2.
Beck, C. T. (1992). Caring among nursing students. Nurse Educator, 17, 22-27.
3.
Benson, H. (1975). The relaxation response. New York: Avon.
4.
Bush, H. S., Thompson, M., & Tubergen, N. V. (1985). Personal assessment of stress factors for college students. Journal of School Health, 53, 370-375.
5.
Caudill, M., Schnabel, R., Zuttermeister, P., Benson, H., & Friedman, R. (1991). Response to behavioral medicine interventions. Clinical Journal of Pain, 7, 305-310.
6.
Charlesworth, E. A., Murphy, S., & Beutler, L. E. (1981). Stress management skill for nursing students. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 37, 284-290.
7.
Courtney, C., & Escobedo, B. (1990). A stress management program Inpatient-to-outpatient continuity. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 44, 306-310.
8.
Dalton, J. A. (1989). Nurses' perceptions of their pain assessment skills, pain management practices, and attitudes towards pain. Oncology Nursing Forum, 16, 225-231.
9.
Devine, E. C. (1992). Effects of psychoeducational care for adult surgical patients: A meta-analysis of 191 studies. Patient Education and Counseling, 19, 129-142.
10.
Engler, M. B., & Engler, M. M. (1995). Assessment of the cardiovascular effects of stress. Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 10, 51-63.
11.
Fawzy, F. I. (1995). A short-term psychoeducational intervention for patients newly diagnosed with cancer. Support Care Cancer, 3, 235-238.
12.
Fawzy, F. I., Fawzy, N. W., Arndt, L. A., & Pasnau, R. O. (1995). Critical review of psychosocial interventions in cancer care. Archives of General Psychiatry, 52, 100-113.
13.
Foley, J., & Stone, G. L. (1988). Stress inoculation with nursing students. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 10, 435-438.
14.
Godbey, K. L., & Courage, M. M. (1994). Stress-management program: Intervention in nursing student performance anxiety. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 8, 190-199.
15.
Hahn, Y. B., Ro, Y. J., Song, H. H., Kim, N. C., Kim, H. S., & Yoo, Y. S. (1993). The effect of thermal biofeedback and progressive muscle relaxation training in reducing blood pressure of patients with essential hypertension. Image: Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 25, 204-213.
16.
Henerson, M. E., Morris, L. L., & Fitz-Gibbon, C. T. (1978). How to measure attitudes. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
17.
Hobbie, C. (1989). Relaxation techniques for children and young people. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 3, 83-87.
18.
Holden-Lund, C. (1988). Effects of relaxation with guided imagery on surgical stress and wound healing. Research in Nursing & Health, 11, 235-244.
19.
Jacobson, E. (1962). You must relax. New York: McGraw-Hill.
20.
Johansson, N. (1991). Effectiveness of a stress management program in reducing anxiety and depression in nursing students. College Health, 40, 125-129.
21.
Ketterer, M. W. (1993). Secondary prevention of ischemic heart disease. The case for aggressive behavioral monitoring and interventions. Psychosomatic, 34, 478-484.
22.
Lehrer, P. M., Sargunaraj, D., & Hochron, S. (1992). Psychological approaches to the treatment of asthma. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 639-643.
23.
Leserman, J., Stuart, E. M., Mamish, M. E., & Benson, H. (1989). The efficacy of the relaxation response in preparing for cardiac surgery. Behavioral Medicine, 15, 111-117.
24.
Lichstein, K. L. (1988). Clinical relaxation strategies. New York: John Wiley.
25.
Lindop, E. (1993). A complementary therapy approach to the management of individual stress among student nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 18, 1578-1585.
26.
Luthe, W., & Schultz, J. H. (1973). Autogenic therapy: Vol. 2. Medical applications. New York: Grune & Stratton.
27.
Lynn, M. R. (1986). Determination and quantification of content validity. Nursing Research, 35, 382-385.
28.
Manderino, M. A., Ganong, L. H., & Darnell, K. F. (1988). Survey of stress management content in baccalaureate nursing curricula. Journal of Nursing Education, 27, 321-325.
29.
McCain, N. L., & Smith, J. C. (1994). Stress and coping in the context of psychoneuroimmunology. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 8, 221-227.
30.
Mobily, P. R., Herr, K. A., & Kelley, L. S. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral techniques to reduce pain: A validation study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 30, 537-548.
31.
Monat, A., & Lazarus, R. S. (1985). Stress and coping: An anthology (2nd ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.
32.
Peper, E., & Holt, C. F. (1993). Creating wholeness: A self-healing workbook using dynamic relaxation, images, and thoughts. New York: Plenum.
33.
Polit, D. F., & Hungler, B. P. (1987). Nursing research: Principles and methods (3rd ed.). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott.
34.
Russler, M. F. (1991). Multidimensional stress management in nursing education. Nursing Education, 30, 341-346.
35.
Sapolsky, R. M. (1994). Why zebras don't get ulcers: A guide to stress, stress-related diseases, and coping. New York: Freeman.
36.
Selye, H. (1956). The stress of life (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
37.
Shindul-Rothschild, J., Berry, D., & Long-Middleton, E. (1996). Where have all the nurses gone? Final results of our patient care survey. American Journal of Nursing, 96, 2543.
38.
Sloman, R. (1995). Relaxation and the relief of cancer pain. Nursing Clinics of North America, 30, 697-709.
39.
Sobel, D. S. (1995). Rethinking medicine: Improving health outcomes with cost-effective psychosocial interventions. Psychosomatic Medicine, 57, 234-244.
40.
Stetson, B., & Peper, E. (1997). Holistic nursing model: Learning life long stress management skills. Manuscript in preparation.
41.
Tan, S. Y. (1982). Cognitive and cognitive-behavioral methods for pain control: A selected review. Pain, 12, 201-228.
42.
Weber, S. (1996). The effects of relaxation exercises on anxiety levels in psychiatric inpatients. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 14, 196-205.
43.
Wilkie, D. J. (1995). Relieving cancer pain. Nursing Clinics of North America, 30, 697-709.
