Abstract
The College of Nursing promotes a wellness culture to address growing mental health challenges among nursing students and professionals (Lipson et al., 2022). Grounded in the 12 dimensions of wellness (Gawlik et al., 2024), these initiatives foster resilience, support healthy lifestyle behaviors, and create a nurturing environment for the nursing community. Mental health and wellness interventions play a crucial role in improving the well-being of college students, including nursing students (Melnyk et al., 2020).
This presentation outlines the development and thematic analysis of Mental Health Bulletin Boards (MHBBs), designed to engage nursing students and professionals in self-care and resilience-building practices. MHBBs foster community engagement and mental health support. These efforts align with national nursing organizations and competency-based education (CBE) standards (AACN, 2021), ensuring future nurses are prepared with skills and emotional resilience to meet professional challenges.
MHBBs were implemented in skills/simulation labs frequently visited by undergraduate nursing students. Graduate students, faculty, staff, and community members also contributed. Participants shared self-care practices on sticky notes in response to the prompt, "What do you do for your mental health?" A total of 339 sticky notes were collected and transcribed into Excel. A thematic analysis followed Braun and Clark’s six-step process (2006). Atlas.ti software was used to code and identify themes. Institutional Review Board approval was granted for this non-human subjects’ research.
The MHBBs identified key self-care practices such as physical activity, connections with friends and family, music, sleep, writing words of encouragement (e.g., "You are enough"), and interactions with animals. This presentation offers strategies to integrate these themes into nursing environments, including academic, clinical, and community settings. By fostering a wellness culture, institutions can better equip nursing professionals to meet field demands.
Notes
References: American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). The Essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education. Washington, DC: Author.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Gawlik, K. S., Teall, A. M., Zeno, R., Newtz, C., Conrad, K., Kolcun, K., Bobek, H., Deerhake, A., Sullivan, K., Rengers, B., & O'Hara, S. (2024). Integrating wellness into curricula using the ten dimensions of wellness as a framework. Journal of Professional Nursing, 50, 73-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2023.11.006
Lipson, S. K., Zhou, S., Abelson, S., Heinze, J., Jirsa, M., Morigney, J., Patterson, A., Singh, M., & Eisenberg, D. (2022). Trends in college student mental health and help-seeking by race/ethnicity: Findings from the National Healthy Minds study, 2013–2021. Journal of Affective Disorders, 306, 138-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.03.038
Melnyk, B. M., Kelly, S. A., Stephens, J., Dhakal, K., McGovern, C., Tucker, S., Hoying, J., Hsieh, A. P., Tan, A., & Bawel-Brinkley, K. (2020). Interventions to improve mental health, well-being, physical health, and lifestyle behaviors in college students: A systematic review. American Journal of College Health, 68(5), 560–570. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1583657
Sigma Membership
Beta Sigma
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
N/A
Research Approach
N/A
Keywords:
Teaching/Learning Strategies, Transition to Practice, Onboarding, Stress and Coping
Recommended Citation
Lightner, Christina Marie; Wolgast, Kelly A.; Almasloukh, Khalid; and Criscitello, Amy, "Fostering Wellness in Nursing: Insights From Mental Health Bulletin Boards" (2025). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 40.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2025/presentations_2025/40
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Fostering Wellness in Nursing: Insights From Mental Health Bulletin Boards
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
The College of Nursing promotes a wellness culture to address growing mental health challenges among nursing students and professionals (Lipson et al., 2022). Grounded in the 12 dimensions of wellness (Gawlik et al., 2024), these initiatives foster resilience, support healthy lifestyle behaviors, and create a nurturing environment for the nursing community. Mental health and wellness interventions play a crucial role in improving the well-being of college students, including nursing students (Melnyk et al., 2020).
This presentation outlines the development and thematic analysis of Mental Health Bulletin Boards (MHBBs), designed to engage nursing students and professionals in self-care and resilience-building practices. MHBBs foster community engagement and mental health support. These efforts align with national nursing organizations and competency-based education (CBE) standards (AACN, 2021), ensuring future nurses are prepared with skills and emotional resilience to meet professional challenges.
MHBBs were implemented in skills/simulation labs frequently visited by undergraduate nursing students. Graduate students, faculty, staff, and community members also contributed. Participants shared self-care practices on sticky notes in response to the prompt, "What do you do for your mental health?" A total of 339 sticky notes were collected and transcribed into Excel. A thematic analysis followed Braun and Clark’s six-step process (2006). Atlas.ti software was used to code and identify themes. Institutional Review Board approval was granted for this non-human subjects’ research.
The MHBBs identified key self-care practices such as physical activity, connections with friends and family, music, sleep, writing words of encouragement (e.g., "You are enough"), and interactions with animals. This presentation offers strategies to integrate these themes into nursing environments, including academic, clinical, and community settings. By fostering a wellness culture, institutions can better equip nursing professionals to meet field demands.
Description
This presentation highlights the development and analysis of Mental Health Bulletin Boards (MHBBs) used across nursing campuses to promote self-care and resilience. Grounded in the 12 wellness dimensions, the initiative fostered community engagement in sharing mental health practices. Key findings include self-care strategies like physical activity, social connections, music, adequate sleep, and encouraging messages. Learn how these insights can enhance wellness in nursing education.