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International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience | ISSN: 1522-4821 | Volume: 20
July 25-26, 2018 | Vancouver, Canada
Psychiatric & Mental Health Nursing
14th World Congress on
Mental Health and Wellbeing
5th World Congress on
&
Notes:
Smart UBC-Embedding mindfulness into undergraduate BSN curriculum
Stress is a natural part of our lives and healthy levels help us with creativity, reaching our goals and maintaining overall
drive. Increased stress levels erode our health, productivity and overall happiness. Chronic stress is becoming an epidemic
of the twenty-first century. To combat this state of affairs many began exploring the benefits of mindfulness as an antidote to
chronic stress. Thirty years of research looking at the effects of mindfulness, as well as the neuroscience of mindfulness, offer
compelling evidence to support the use of mindfulness practices. Some benefits of practicing mindfulness are stronger focus,
better memory, staying calmer under stress, enhanced concentration and executive functioning, improved overall mental and
physical health. In 2015, the School of Nursing at UBC Okanagan began offering a smartUBC to all first-year students in a
mandatory Relational Practice course. The rationale was two-fold: to provide undergraduate students with mindfulness skills
and capacities to help them navigate and succeed in their first year of university as well as stress management and resiliency
techniques for their nursing practice. These students are currently part of a 6-year longitudinal study looking at the efficacy
of smartUBC. First-year findings provide preliminary evidence that the smartUBC course offers coping techniques to nursing
students to assist them with the demands of school. We offered smartUBC to our faculty and staff and have expanded the
program into the community. Program evaluation into these sessions reports that the curriculum has a positive impact on
both work and personal lives. The vast majority of participants would recommend the course to others and faculty members
believe there is a benefit to offering smartUBC in the academic environment. The smartUBC (stress management and resiliency
techniques) curriculum has its foundation in MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction) with added components of emotional
theory and forgiveness and compassion training.
Biography
Iwona Sienko has over 30 years of nursing and leadership experience in working in various healthcare systems and own business. Throughout her career, she
developed a deep trust in a human capacity that became even more prevalent after spending time healing from chronic stress. During that time she explored the
latest discoveries in neuroscience, epigenetics, and neuroplasticity. She has learned how to build resiliency in the body and mind. In a way, she bio hacked her life
to overcome the adversities of her experiences. She witnessed first-hand how the body and mind can heal from chronic stress when given proper support in the
right environment. She is an Adjunct Professor with the School of Nursing at UBCO; in her practice, she utilizes the power of mindfulness and its influence on our
relationship with stress. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Masters in Business Administration and is a certified smartUBC facilitator.
Iwona Sienko
University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, Canada
Iwona Sienko, IJEMHHR 2018, Volume: 20
DOI: 10.4172/1522-4821-C3-016