Effects of a brief interpersonal mindfulness program embedded in a psychiatric nursing practicum: A controlled pilot study

Abstract

Background: Nursing school is a stressful environment that demands high performance both professionally and academically. Interpersonal mindfulness training has shown promise for its stress-reducing capacity in other contexts; however, few descriptions or tests of this method in nursing training settings exist in the literature. Purpose: This pilot study examined effects of a brief interpersonal mindfulness program embedded in a 4-week psychiatric nursing practicum in Thailand. Methods: Mixed methods were used with 31 fourth-year nursing students to measure changes in mindfulness and assess their experiences of the program's impact. The control and experimental groups received the same clinical training, but the experimental group was also trained to practice interpersonal mindfulness throughout the course. Findings: The experimental group reported statistically significantly greater increases in Observing, Describing, and Non-reacting subscale scores, and in scores for the overall Five-Facet Mindfulness questionnaire, Thai version, than the control group (p < .05, Cohen's d = 0.83–0.95, large effect sizes). Group interviews revealed themes: initial challenges to mindfulness practice, experiences of becoming more mindful, intrapersonal benefits, and consequences of mindfulness on interpersonal skills. Conclusion: Overall, an interpersonal mindfulness program embedded in a psychiatric nursing practicum was effective. Further studies are required to address limitations of the present study.