A brief mental fitness workshop embedded in a Canadian practical nursing program was perceived by students as feasible and acceptable, according to a qualitative descriptive study published in PLOS Mental Health.
Researchers led by Linda Frost integrated two sessions from a condensed version of the Mastering My Mental Fitness for Nurses program into a fourth-semester laboratory course within a Practical Nursing Program. The study explored students’ perceptions of the acceptability and perceived value of the workshop, not its clinical effectiveness.
The researchers used a qualitative descriptive design with reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with five students and free-text post-session feedback forms from 49 participants.
Across the interviews and feedback forms, students reported enhanced awareness of stress and burnout. They also reframed self-care as a professional responsibility rather than a personal indulgence, and valued opportunities for peer connection through small-group discussions.
Participants offered suggestions for improving the program. Students recommended earlier and more frequent integration of the workshop within the curriculum, as well as greater flexibility in how the sessions are delivered.
The authors emphasize that the findings reflect short-term perceptions rather than clinical outcomes. The workshop was perceived as feasible and acceptable, with implications for mental health promotion and burnout prevention among nursing students, but no effect on validated mental health measures was assessed in this study.
Nursing students experience high levels of stress that can negatively affect mental health and well-being, a context the researchers cite as motivation for embedding mental fitness content within nursing education itself.
The study team states that future research should examine the impact of such workshops using validated mental health and well-being measures, moving beyond perceptions of acceptability toward measured outcomes.
Within the limits of a small qualitative sample, the study suggests that a condensed mental fitness workshop can be integrated into an existing nursing course with positive student perceptions, while leaving questions of longer-term benefit to further research.
Subject of Research: Student perceptions of a brief mental fitness workshop integrated into a Canadian practical nursing curriculum
Article Title: Implementing a mental fitness workshop in a Canadian Practical Nursing Program: A qualitative descriptive study
Article References: Frost, L., Borras, J., Dysangco, A., & Carine Makwaira, V. (2026). Implementing a mental fitness workshop in a Canadian Practical Nursing Program: A qualitative descriptive study. PLOS Mental Health, 3(10), e0000760. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmen.0000760
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmen.0000760
Keywords: nursing students, mental fitness, burnout, stress, qualitative research, nursing education, self-care, mental health promotion, thematic analysis, PLOS Mental Health, Implementing, mental
News Source: Glenn Wilkins. (October 28, 2026). Mental fitness workshop seen as feasible and acceptable by Canadian nursing students. Scienmag.
