Abstract
Attrition in nursing education has lasting consequences that affect individual students, higher education institutions, and the national nursing workforce. Although attrition is a multifaceted problem, the literature suggests that fostering self-efficacy is an effective strategy for supporting long-term student retention. This quality improvement project used a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief mindfulness intervention aimed at improving self-efficacy and mindfulness among associate degree nursing students. Pre- and post-intervention surveys were conducted with thirteen (n = 13) paired student responses. Following the intervention, there was a statistically significant increase in self-efficacy (t(12) = -3.73, p = .003), with a 14.2% increase in mean General Self-Efficacy scores. Mean Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale scores increased by 5.2%; however, this change was not statistically significant (t(12) = -0.87, p = .404). These findings suggest that implementing short-duration mindfulness sessions may provide meaningful support for nursing students by improving self-efficacy, which may ultimately contribute to enhanced retention within nursing education programs.
Date of publication
2026
Document Type
DNP Scholarly Project
Language
english
Persistent identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/10950/5053
Committee members
Deanna Adams DNP, APRN, AGACNP-BC, FNP-C, CEN, Committee Chair
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Recommended Citation
Fleming, Antonia, "DNP Final Report: IMPROVING SELF-EFFICACY IN REPEAT ENTRY NURSING STUDENTS" (2026). DNP Final Reports. Paper 83.
http://hdl.handle.net/10950/5053