Can Nurse Coaching Ease Nursing School Stress? New Research from Wisdom Of The Whole Graduates
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. What the Study Did
III. What They Found
IV. Why it Matters
I. Introduction
We're celebrating some of our own this month. A new study in the Journal of Holistic Nursing, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Holistic Nurses Association, asks whether nurse coaching can help nursing students carry the stress of school. Three of its five authors are Wisdom of the Whole Coaching Academy (WOW) graduates, and one, Dr. Gloria Duke, is part of our faculty.
Congratulations to Dr. Gloria Duke, Dr. Jutara Srivali Teal, and Dr. Meg Little, and to their co-authors Dr. Christine Gipson and Dr. Belinda Deal of The University of Texas at Tyler. The article, Evaluating Nurse Coaching Feasibility and Well-Being Outcomes Among Nursing Students Using Mixed Methods, was published online July 25, 2026, and is free to read.
II. What the Study Did
Nursing school is demanding long before newly graduated nurses even start their first shift. Students juggle heavy coursework, clinical rotations, jobs outside of school, and family responsibilities. The research team in the above study wanted to know whether holistic nurse coaching could help with the student experience.
Undergraduate nursing students from three universities in the southern U.S. each had two one-on-one sessions with a board-certified nurse coach (NC-BC). All three coaches were Wisdom of the Whole graduates, chosen so every student received the same coaching approach. The WOW coaching methodology developed by Dr. Linda Bark guided the sessions, and the American Holistic Nurses Association funded the work.
Students also took part in photovoice: they photographed what coaching meant for their well-being, then talked through the images together. That gave the researchers both numbers and the students' own stories.
III. What They Found
The clearest result was that nurse coaching eases stress. Among the 16 students who completed the study, average perceived stress scores fell from 19.9 to 15.4, a drop of about 23% after just two coaching sessions. Resilience and overall well-being also improved.
The photos showed how that shift happened. Three themes stood out:
Broadening perspectives: noticing the support around them, finding energy in helping others, and giving themselves grace
Developing self-care practices: getting outside, moving, sleeping better, and returning to drawing, painting, or spiritual practice
Managing the doing and being: holding school and the rest of life at once, and celebrating small wins
One student recalled her coach reminding her that "you can still do those things that you enjoy and love." Seven of the eight students who answered the feedback survey said they would do coaching again.
This was a small pilot without a comparison group, so the authors call the results promising rather than proven. They see it as groundwork for a larger trial.
IV. Why It Matters
Nurses in the U.S. report poorer health than the average American on nearly every measure, stress included, and burnout keeps pushing people out of the profession. The authors argue that nursing school is the right place to start utilizing nurse coaching for stress reduction. Habits that build resilience there can travel with new nurses into practice. What’s your opinion? Does nurse coaching ease stress?
The study authors also draw a useful line between coaching and the advising or mentoring students already get. In coaching, the student sets the direction. The coach helps them rediscover what already sustains them and turn it into small, doable steps.
This is the heart of how we train nurse coaches at Wisdom of the Whole. It's a joy to watch our graduates and faculty carry that work into research that supports the next generation of nurses. Congratulations again to Gloria, Jutara, Meg, and the whole team.
Curious what nurse coaching could look like in your own career? Explore our coach training program or join an upcoming info session. Wisdom of the Whole coach training prepares you for all three (ICF, NBHWC, and AHNCC) certification pathways.