‘Safeguarding the mental health of nurses and nursing students is essential’

Nursing students and practising nurses alike are enduring escalating levels of stress, burnout, and emotional exhaustion, exacerbated by ongoing global nursing shortages and the prolonged impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Stigma, punitive licensing policies, and insufficient mental health services continue to undermine nurse retention and wellbeing”

Recent data from multiple authoritative sources, including the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and national workforce surveys, reveal alarming trends: approximately 65% of nurses report high stress and burnout levels, with rising rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation among nursing staff continuing into 2025.

Nursing students also confront significant pressures from demanding academic programmes and clinical placements, often without adequate mental health resources.

The crisis stems from multifactorial stressors: chronic understaffing, excessive workloads, high patient-to-nurse ratios, workplace violence, and insufficient leadership support contribute to moral injury and compassion fatigue among nurses.

Additionally, systemic barriers such as inflexible shift patterns and stigma surrounding mental health care prevent many nurses from accessing needed support.

In response, healthcare institutions and academic programmes are initiating critical interventions. The National Academy of Medicine’s Clinician Well-Being Collaborative now includes nursing students, advocating for systemic reforms such as reducing administrative burdens and enhancing wellbeing infrastructure.

Universities like Johns Hopkins have integrated mental health literacy and resilience training into nursing curricula, fostering early coping skills and peer support networks. Leading hospital systems have established dedicated wellness teams, offering 24/7 mental health access, resilience rounding, and onsite decompression spaces.

Despite these advances, significant structural challenges remain. Stigma, punitive licensing policies, and insufficient mental health services continue to undermine nurse retention and wellbeing.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and other governmental bodies have allocated funds to bolster nurse retention through improved mental health support, underscoring the critical need for policy-level reform.

Ultimately, safeguarding the mental health of nurses and nursing students is essential not only for their wellbeing but also for the safety and effectiveness of healthcare systems nationwide.

Without sustained investment in comprehensive mental health support and systemic workplace reforms, the nursing profession risks further attrition and a compromised standard of care.

This national crisis demands coordinated action from educators, healthcare leaders, policymakers, and professional organisations to create resilient, supportive environments where nurses can thrive both personally and professionally.

Iyanuoluwa Deborah Adubi is a second-year children’s nursing student at the University of the Northampton and Nursing Times student editor 2024-25