Academic stress in nursing students

Introduction: The load of academic activities can generate various changes in students at a psychological, behavioral and physical level, which are attributed to stress, which is why they need to implement various coping strategies to cope with it and reduce its magnitude. Objective: To evaluate the level of academic stress in Nursing students and identify the causes, manifestations and coping resources. Methodology: Analytical, quantitative and transversal study. 610 students were surveyed using the SISCO academic stress questionnaire. Results: The average age of the respondents was 28.6 years and they were mostly women (89.84%), in their third year (24.26%) and without children (64.43%). The intensity of academic stress obtained an average of 4.26 out of 5.00. Teacher evaluations were the most recurrent stressor, while the stress responses that stood out were psychological reactions such as anxiety, anguish or despair. The most implemented coping strategy was the development and execution of action plans to solve the problems. Conclusions: The majority of respondents presented a serious level of stress. Reactions to stress were linked to the variables age, sex, children and year of the study plan. It is necessary to provide students with tools to cope with stress.