Effect of a Faculty Cohort Mentoring Program on Prelicensure Baccalaureate Nursing Students Well-being and Resiliency

Nursing school can be a uniquely stressful time for students of all ages and backgrounds (Cleary et al., 2023). This stress can lead to dissatisfaction with the nursing program experience and for some, leaving school altogether (Onieva-Zafra et al., 2020). Researchers found stress levels among nursing students that were significantly linked to anxiety and could lead to social withdrawal and failure to complete the program or stay in the profession upon graduation (Evans et al., 2020; Onieva-Zafra et al., 2020). Tuomikoski et al. (2019) found that having a dedicated support system in place increases student satisfaction and success rates. Cleary et al. (2023) noted that employing a faculty-student mentoring program was one such support system that significantly contributes to creating a safe space for students to learn and thrive. This aim of this project is to determine the effectiveness of a faculty cohort mentoring program that has been designed and implemented in the College of Nursing to support nursing students by relieving their perceived stress, promoting wellness and resiliency, and increasing retention rates. We are in the process of evaluating the initiative with a formal study where qualitative data and quantitative data will be collected and analyzed.