Beyond White Coats: Understanding Stress and Coping Among Nursing Scholars

Abstract

Background: Stress is a pervasive challenge among nursing students due to the demands of academic workload, clinical responsibilities, and transitional life changes. Unmanaged stress adversely affects learning, clinical performance, and long-term professional functioning. The present study aimed to assess the level of stress among B.Sc. nursing students and evaluate the effectiveness of an educational pamphlet on coping strategies in a selected nursing college of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

Methodology: A quantitative, quasi-experimental one-group pre-test–post-test design was adopted. The study was conducted among B.Sc. nursing students selected by simple random sampling from a nursing college in Varanasi. Data were collected during December 2024 using a structured demographic proforma, a 60-item stress assessment questionnaire (physical, emotional, behavioural domains; scored 1–4 per item), and a coping strategies checklist (15 items). Content validity index (CVI = 0.84) and test–retest reliability (r = 0.89) were established prior to the main study. Descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (paired t-test, chi-square) were applied at α = 0.05 significance level using SPSS.

Results: Pre-test findings indicated that 80% of subjects had average stress-related knowledge and 20% had inadequate knowledge. Post-test findings revealed that 73.3% had excellent knowledge and 26.6% had good knowledge. The mean knowledge score improved significantly from 9.6 (pre-test) to 25.5 (post-test) (t = 3.142, df = 59, p < 0.05). Similarly, mean skill scores improved from 4.8 to 12.1 (t = 2.384, p < 0.05). Chi-square analysis revealed no statistically significant association between stress levels and selected demographic variables (age, gender, course, family history, awareness about stress).

Conclusion: Educational pamphlets are an effective, low-cost intervention for improving stress-related knowledge and coping skill among nursing students. Integration of structured stress-management education into nursing curricula and community health programmes is recommended. Nurse educators and psychiatric nurses are well-positioned to deliver targeted psychoeducational interventions in college settings.