The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is incomplete without mindfulness because it gives students strategies to deal with academic or professional challenges. Through mindfulness, the mind is aware of the events of the present without being caught in prejudices or negative emotional responses. This is especially helpful to the DNP students, given that such learners have numerous commitments such as class, clinical practice, and family. Through the practice of mindfulness, learners can use daily practicing daily practices such as guided meditation and mindfulness of breathing to reduce their stress and anxiety levels (McNulty et al., 2021). These techniques enable learners to reduce the rate of thinking, which is recurrent in most students, thus allowing them to understand better what has been taught and improve their concentration and performance. Hence, when practiced in the context of a rigorous DNP program, it can be a helpful method of combating burnout and keeping the students in good mental health to continue being productive throughout the program.
Mindfulness also contributes positively to mental health and enhances the memorability and the inherent meaning of a learning experience through a more excellent bond with the material learned. Doing mindful practices before starting your study sessions or classes sets a mental space for you to concentrate and absorb information. Take the example of beginning your study session with a brief mindful exercise to remove the clutter in your mind and direct it on what you should do. Firth et al. (2019), also find that mindfulness enhances academic performance by reducing stress and improving cognitive function. In addition, mindfulness makes the students more present, mindful, and alert during lectures and discussions, and it aids in comprehending complex nursing practice concepts essential to critical aspects of advanced nursing practice. Further, awareness of the moment can provide students with more sophisticated insight into the details of healthcare delivery, which is necessary for the leaders they will be at work.
Furthermore, mindfulness fosters emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills necessary for DNP students in various healthcare settings. Regular exercise in mindfulness enables the students to watch thoughts and feelings pass by without instantly expelling them. Therefore, this aspect of mindfulness can be applied to manage challenging situations calmly in all settings. This is especially important in healthcare, where professionals working under such stressful conditions must make crucial decisions or communicate quickly (Firth et al., 2019). Moreover, practicing mindfulness increases students’ ability to connect with patients, colleagues, and mentors, to be more mindful, and to be more compassionate and understanding.
This discussion relates to two DNP Essentials I and II. The former identifies the importance of evidence-based practice in nursing, and the latter demands that DNP preparation graduates be leaders in healthcare systems (Waldrop et al., 2023). Mindfulness enhances analytical reasoning and self-reflection to form the basis of evidence-based healthcare delivery. Moreover, this domain of mindfulness aligns with professionalism and awareness in health care environment competencies. Together, these essentials and competencies emphasize the importance of mindfulness in preparing DNP students to become advanced nursing practice careers.
References
Firth, A. M., Cavallini, I., Sütterlin, S., & Lugo, R. G. (2019). Mindfulness and self-efficacy in pain perception, stress, and academic performance. The influence of mindfulness on cognitive processes. Psychology research and behavior management, 565-574.
McNulty, D. (2021). DNP FINAL REPORT: The Impact of Mindfulness Training on Stress, Burnout, and Mindfulness.
Waldrop, J., Reynolds, S. S., McMillian-Bohler, J. M., Graton, M., & Ledbetter, L. (2023). Evaluation of DNP program essentials of doctoral nursing education: A scoping review. Journal of Professional Nursing, 46, 7-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2022.11.009