Post-traumatic growth (PTG) refers to personal growth that occurs after experiencing challenges. For many nursing students, PTG could occur during their clinical practice. Academic motivation and resilience could help students to overcome these traumatic clinical experiences and possibly achieve PTG. This study examined the relationships between nursing students’ academic motivation and resilience leading to post-traumatic growth. A total of 291 nursing students from three South Korean nursing colleges participated in this cross-sectional study. Self-report questionnaire data were analyzed using t-tests, ANOVA, correlations, and hierarchical multiple linear regressions. Intrinsically motivated students’ PTG scores were significantly higher compared to extrinsically motivated students (t = 4.62, p < 0.001). Resilience scores showed similar results (t = 3.81, p < 0.001). Significant total, direct, and indirect effects of academic motivation on resilience and PTG were found. In addition, resilience mediated 40.9% of the relationship between academic motivation and PTG. Nursing students with intrinsic academic motivation were more likely to achieve high PTG scores, and resilience mediated the relationship between academic motivation and PTG. It is suggested that the importance of academic motivation must be considered in the early stages of university-level nursing education to increase retention rates of nursing students.

Background. Paramedic students frequently face various stressful and challenging situations as they work in emergency medical settings. Currently, research studies on utilizing meditation courses as a part of the curriculum to improve the mental health of paramedic students in Korea are lacking. Methods. For this quasiexperimental study, a nonequivalent group pretest and post‐test research design was used. The study sample comprised 55 paramedic students from two similar‐sized universities in different locations: 27 in the experimental group and 28 in the control group. The experimental group participated in an eight‐week meditation course, while the control group did not receive any interventions during the same time period. Results. The results indicated that compared with the control group, the experimental group had significantly decreased anxiety (p = 0.047) and stress levels (p = 0.044) and improved sleep quality (p = 0.041). The change in depression levels did not significantly differ between the groups (p = 0.419). Conclusions. The inclusion of a meditation course within college curriculums for paramedic students is feasible and may benefit students in terms of stress, anxiety, and sleep quality.

Aims We aim to identify challenges and recommendations for senior centre health services focusing on nurses' roles in an urban South Korean community. Background Senior centres can potentially provide easily accessible and cost-effective health services to older adults. It is essential to identify current challenges to improve health services. Method This study used an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. Quantitative descriptive data were obtained from a survey of all nurses at senior centres in Seoul (n = 30). For the qualitative data, focus group interviews were conducted with various senior centre stakeholders (n = 15). Results Two main themes, discrepancy between services and needs and reform senior centres, were identified with six subthemes. Conclusions Challenges identified included insufficient availability to meet health service needs, overlapping health services, and no legal clarification of nurses' roles. Recommendations to improve the senior centre health services include to focus on the centres' main goals, function as health and welfare hubs, establish legal guidelines, and provide adequate nurse staffing. Implication for Nursing Management The senior centres need to hire more nurses and define nurses' occupational roles legally for the centres to serve as a hub connecting medical care and welfare.

Nurses in South Korea experience high work intensity and poor working environments, which worsened during the COVID‐19 pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate the work changes and grievances of nurses who provided direct care for patients at tertiary hospitals during the pandemic. The nurses’ perceptions of their organizational culture and its impact on nurses’ health were also explored. A three‐round Delphi study was conducted with 36 expert group participants from six South Korean tertiary hospitals. Overall, 36, 35, and 33 participants responded in the first, second, and third rounds, respectively. Nursing work was divided into three categories: “work related to COVID‐19‐positive and close contacts,” “work related to COVID‐19 negative patients,” and “work related to common nursing tasks.” Organizational culture had the highest average for “increased compliance,” followed by “increased conflict,” “decreased collegiality,” and “growing sense of community.” The identified health problems of nurses during the pandemic were the highest for physical health, followed by mental and social health. These results showed that the workload and work intensity of hospital nurses increased significantly, and their physical, mental, and social health deteriorated during the pandemic. To overcome the crisis, the nursing organizational culture had a strong inclination to comply with the COVID‐19‐related guidelines with an increased sense of community. As conflicts between employees and departments grew, these were able to be overcome through trust and communication between departments, in which the nursing leadership played an important role. To protect the health and lives of people, it is important to secure skilled nurses in preparation for future disasters. In addition, support is needed to protect the safety and health of nurses and to cultivate effective nursing leadership.