Lived Experiences of Stress and Resilience in Undergraduate Nursing Students in Arizona: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study

Undergraduate nursing students commonly experience higher levels of perceived stress compared to other student groups in higher education. Academic pressures, clinical performance expectations, and personal life stressors can result in poor performance outcomes. The problem is that numerous undergraduate nursing students in Arizona may experience levels of stress that may lead to negative physical, psychological, and academic consequences. There is a gap in the literature on lived experiences of stress and resilience in undergraduate nursing students and on effective stress and resilience nursing education interventions. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological research study was to explore a deeper understanding of Arizona undergraduate student nurses’ lived experiences of stress and resilience. Polk’s resilience theory and Bandura’s self-efficacy theory theoretical frameworks helped guide this study as ways of coping with stress. The research questions sought descriptions and deeper meanings of Arizona undergraduate student nurses’ lived experiences of stress and how they build resilience. Fifteen students were selected from the same Arizona university system and data was collected using 60-minute online Zoom semi-structured interviews. Key findings captured unique individual lived experiences and common threads of stress and building resilience. The major themes of stress were identified as: fear of failure, lack of control, study/work/life imbalance. Major themes of resilience were identified as: focus/distraction, belief in a higher power and/or self, support from others and time management. Recommendations are to develop student-centered stress management and resilience-building strategies in undergraduate nursing education.