Date of Award
Spring 5-21-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
MA - Master of Arts
Department
Mindfulness Studies
First Advisor
Melissa Jean
Second Advisor
Andrew Olendzki
Abstract
The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM), founded by Dr. James Gordon, provides communities with evidence-based Mind-Body Skills Groups (MBSGs) that foster self-care, self-awareness, and self-expression. MBSGs range from 8 to 12-week series on various mind-body practices wherein group members meet, practice, and reflect on the impact of mind-body skills in their lives. Research has demonstrated that participants in MBSGs have positive outcomes. Healthcare professionals (HCPs), especially nurses, gain resiliency from MBSGs. As facilitators of MBSGs, nurses develop essential skills transferable to clinical and educational settings. MBSGs are therapeutic for adult participants with chronic stress. Prior to this thesis, only one study examined the impact of facilitating MBSGs on the facilitator. There was no research on the nurse as an MBSG facilitator. This paper examines the influence of mindfulness on the CMBM model, which uniquely provides MBSGs to various populations. It also investigates the CMBM model’s impact on the nurse facilitators’ ability to be mindfully aware and responsive. The paper utilizes a cross-sectional qualitative research design; the researcher interviewed five nurse facilitators of MBSGs to capture their nuanced experiences. The semi-structured interviews revealed the following three themes: (1) self-care (subthemes: self-care during COVID-19, mindfulness as self-care, and leaning toward compassion to find safety and self-compassion); (2) patient applications (subthemes: compassionate presence as a mind-body skill and a platform to share other mind-body skills); and (3) finding confidence. The interview findings suggest MBSG facilitation has potential to be a nursing intervention; MBSGs could enhance nursing resilience in healthcare organizations and nursing colleges.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Blake-Beckford, Paula D., "A Qualitative Study on Nurse Facilitators of Mind-Body Skills Groups" (2022). Mindfulness Studies Theses. 59.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/mindfulness_theses/59
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