Promoting academic resilience through peer support in a new pre-registration nursing programme

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Student Resilience
• Higher Education

Background:

• Nursing students face significant stress during registration, necessitating institutional support.
• Higher education institutions must implement strategies to mitigate student stress and enhance resilience.
• A part-time pre-registration nursing program was developed to address these challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of action learning sets in supporting junior nursing students.
• To assess the impact of peer mentorship by senior students on student confidence and coping mechanisms.
• To explore the potential for building resilience in nursing students through innovative program design.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of action learning sets within a 4-year part-time pre-registration nursing program.
• Delivery of action learning sets by senior nursing students (part 3) to junior nursing students (part 1).
• Pilot project focused on supporting healthcare support workers with prior nursing care experience.

Main Results:

• Both junior and senior students reported benefits from the action learning sets.
• The innovation increased student confidence and improved coping abilities.
• Positive evaluation of the pilot project's success in building nursing student resilience.

Conclusions:

• Action learning sets, facilitated by peer mentors, are effective in enhancing nursing student resilience.
• This model can be further developed and integrated into other nursing programs.
• The program contributes to nurse retention in Wales by supporting experienced healthcare support workers.