Calm Box: A Creative Way to Lower Nursing Student Stress Levels

Problem statement: Nursing students experience stressful situations completing high-stakes evaluations such as objective structured clinical exams (OSCE). Aim: This project aimed to address stress in prelicensure nursing students, a common learning and performance barrier. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an evidence-based approach to inclusive teaching, a framework that addresses learning barriers and improves the classroom experience for all students. A calming box is a UDL strategy to minimize learning engagement threats. Actions: Calm boxes containing stress-relief items such as stress balls and scented candles were provided to students to use before and after an OSCE. Students completed a Likert-scale survey to gauge whether they perceived that the calm box lowered their stress levels. Results: Student survey results were positive, with 100% of respondents reported the calm box items helped lower stress levels after the OSCE, and 89% reported the calm box items helped lower stress levels before the OSCE. Students expressed appreciation for the intervention, particularly enjoying sensory items. Notably, students continued to utilize the calm box items throughout the clinical day, not just before and after the OSCE. These findings suggest that a calm box addresses stress, improving the classroom experience.