Curriculum changes put student well-being at the heart of nursing education
In an era where 56% of nurses experience burnout and 39% contemplate leaving their positions within six months, Belmont’s Inman College of Nursing is taking unprecedented steps to reshape the future of nursing education and practice.
The college is implementing a comprehensive wellness initiative that integrates self-care and mental health support directly into its curriculum, preparing students for the technical demands and the emotional and spiritual challenges they will face in their careers.
"At Belmont, we're creating agents of change by modeling what genuine support looks like in nursing," said Associate Professor Dr. Elizabeth Morse. "Our students don't just receive care and support while they're here — they learn to bring that same culture of wellness into their own workplaces when they graduate, and they're equipped to transform the environments where they practice. "
Central to this initiative is a mandatory self-care course for all incoming freshmen nursing students starting this fall. The course, which has already proven popular among students as an elective, teaches practical strategies for maintaining well-being in high-stress health care environments.
"We surveyed students who have taken the self-care course, and 99% said it should be required," said Assistant Professor Sara Camp. "They're still using what they learned — particularly self-compassion, gratitude and boundaries — either as students or in practice."
The program extends beyond the classroom in several ways:
- Free access to the Headspace mindfulness app for all nursing students, faculty and staff
- Monthly wellness events addressing different dimensions of well-being
- A dedicated wellness space opening in March designed for meditation and stress relief
- Integration of mindfulness practices during known high-stress periods in the curriculum
The college has also partnered with Molly Yates, a licensed clinical social worker with 30 years of experience in mental health, to provide additional support for nursing students. Yates leads monthly wellness sessions focusing on crucial skills like maintaining boundaries, practicing gratitude and developing self-compassion, while also helping faculty better support students during high-stress moments in their training.
"We're not trying to decrease the stress, but we're trying to increase the amount of resilience that students have to meet those stressors," Yates explained. "It's like water stations during a marathon — we know this hill is super steep, and when you get to the top, you might be thirsty. So we'll see you there with Gatorade and popsicles."
The initiative, aligning with Belmont’s "SOUL framework", creates a unique approach that emphasizes both professional excellence and personal well-being. A key focus is reclaiming joy in nursing — moving beyond burnout prevention to actively cultivating positive experiences in the profession.
"We want to highlight the stories of joy and purpose in nursing," Morse said. "For many of us, it's a calling. We want our attempts to promote well-being to be more than just the prevention of poor outcomes, but really the promotion of this beautiful, sacred job."
With two-thirds of nurses experiencing mental health challenges reporting they don't seek or receive support, and 56% citing stigma around mental health care in the profession, Belmont's innovative approach seeks to serve as a model for nursing education nationwide. The program is preparing a new generation of nurses who are equipped not just with clinical skills, but with the emotional resilience, self-care strategies, and willingness to prioritize mental health needed to thrive in their careers.
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