The State of Nursing Student Mental Health and Wellness Support as Perceived by Nursing Faculty: A Qualitative Study

The primary aim of this study was to describe and understand how nursing faculty manage nursing students’ negative mental health wellness in the academic environment. A qualitative descriptive design was used. A purposive sample of 15 nursing faculty from 12 accredited undergraduate baccalaureate nursing programs across five states in the Eastern United States participated in semistructured interviews. Results revealed faculty conduct significantly impacts students’ psychological states. Detailed strategies to build resiliency skills and foster student belongingness and mental health wellness were also described. This unique consideration of supportive interventions for the plethora of student academic stressors offers nursing faculty a means to structure the learning experience to effectively assist students. Implications include providing faculty with a clearer understanding of behaviors, strategies, and resources for fostering student mental health wellness and nurturing resilience so they may better educate and evaluate students to ensure a healthy global future nurse workforce.