Developing the mindful nurse practitioner
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Developing the mindful nurse practitioner

Simon Baverstock Senior Lecturer in Mental Health, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, England
Ian Hulatt Consultant Editor, Mental Health Practice, RCNi, London, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To understand the principles behind the concept of mindfulness

  • To familiarise yourself with the skills required to become a mindful nurse practitioner

  • To be aware of how mindfulness can contribute to nurse education

Reflection is an important skill for nurses. Building on these reflective skills, mindfulness offers opportunities for personal development by increasing nurses’ awareness of sensory experiences, other people and their environment. Mindfulness is also an important element of self-care. This increased awareness can contribute to the nurse’s ability to make skills-based healthcare decisions and act in the ‘present moment’. The authors argue that these qualities are essential in developing the future nursing workforce, particularly given stressful challenges faced by the profession, for example increased work pressures at times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This article discusses the evidence for, and benefits of, offering mindfulness programmes during nurse education and for the wider nursing profession.

Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2020.e1406

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

sbaverstock@uclan.ac.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Baverstock S, Hulatt I (2020) Developing the mindful nurse practitioner. Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2020.e1406

Published online: 03 June 2020

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