Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
11-2023
Document Type
DNP Project
Department
Nursing
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Molly Kuhle
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Lawrence Santiago
Abstract
Abstract The purpose of the study was to analyze the impact of self-compassion exercises to reduce stress and support the transition to practice for new graduate nurses. As the years pass, one thing remains a consistent topic in healthcare, and the need for nurses remains constant. The nursing staffing shortage gap seemingly widened further as the COVID-19 pandemic created additional challenges for healthcare systems, patient care, and employees. Retention of the workforce and an intentional focus on new graduate nurses' well-being have become increasingly important. New graduate nurses are a pipeline for the nursing workforce. Supporting the transition to practice through the guidance of a nurse residency program has been shown to aid in this important transition as well as provide a platform to promote well-being. This project introduced self-compassion exercises in the first 3 months of the Nurse Residency Program. Jean Watson’s unitary model was the theoretical framework that was used to guide this project. New graduate nurses were evaluated utilizing the Casey-Fink Graduate Nurse Experience Survey, which was administered at hire and again at 3 months, which aligned with the organization's first phase of the Nurse Residency Program. The results revealed a slight improvement in the increased support response as well as a decrease in stressors. The findings of this pilot study demonstrated that the use of self-compassion exercises had a positive impact on new graduate nurse's early transition to practice experience. Keywords: stress, retention, graduate nurses, resilience, self-care, transition to practice, residency, vision board
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Ballmann, Charity Michelle, "The Impact of Self-Compassion Strategies to Reduce Stress and Support the Transition to Practice for New Graduate Nurses: A Pilot Project" (2023). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 697.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/697