The purpose of this poster presentation is to summarize the key points of the oral presentation of this same topic and to offer the authors’ insights of their shared lived experiences during an international medical mission trip in the Summer of 2018. A practical approach to reflective journaling will also be highlighted during this poster session.
Methods:
The goal of this project is to promote interdisciplinary collaboration among nursing and social work students to support a healthy learning environment by educating and empowering students. The presenters will offer strategies for developing self-care practices, such as reflective journaling and mindfulness. The reflective journaling and mindfulness experience for students will be discussed and explored. A sample journal will be provided for participants to view.
Results:
During the nurse education experience, students must understand how to learn, collaborate, and coexist with others in order to be prepared to work with fellow nurses and health care providers in their professional careers. There is a lack of knowledge within academia on how to foster such collaboration and often, a lack of student resilience hinders this process. Faculty across disciplines must be able to foster and support a healthy learning environment by educating and empowering their students for increased resilience and collaboration. Students reported an increased feeling of affirmation and self-awareness after completing the reflective journaling and mindfulness practices.
Conclusion:
Lack of resiliency among students negatively impacts the learning environment. Students who lack resilience often struggle with stress and coping skills, which unduly impacts their academic performance. This poor performance may result in failing grades, increasing drop-out rates, and more incidence of academic incivility. Unattended consequences of this may also include: diminished self-efficacy and an increased prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression. The development of a self-care practice, which may include reflective journaling and mindfulness are examples of how to foster student resilience. This self-care practice was useful in developing a sense of awareness and higher level consciousness in our students.