Il benessere dello studente di infermieristica come motore dell’umanizzazione delle cure

Report del seminario itinerante Self-Caring on the Road: un progetto dell’Università degli Studi di Palermo

Nursing student well-being as a catalyst for humanizing healthcare. Report of the traveling seminar “Self-Caring on the Road”: a project of the University of Palermo

Marika Lo Monaco*^1,4,5, Mariachiara Figura¹, Giuliano Anastasi^2,5, Gloria Littlemouse^3,4, Ramona Gheorghe⁴, Romina Cassaro¹, Emanuele Bordonaro¹, Ella Domanskaya¹, Elisa Castelli¹, Marco di Fiore¹, Tania Calafato¹, Stefania Ruggirello¹, Maria Francesca Clemenza¹, Silvia Oggioni⁵, Giuseppe D’Anna¹, Antonino Amato^1,6, Maria La Greca⁷, Salvatore Colomba⁸, Vincenzo Cascino⁹, Daniela Nigrelli⁹, Giuseppe Orlando¹⁰, Antonio D’Anna¹¹, Roberto Latina¹

1.Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italia
2.Università degli Studi Kore di Enna, Italia
3.Vanderbilt University, School of Nursing, Tennessee, USA
4.Watson Caring Science Institute (WCSI), USA
5.American Holistic Nurses Association – Chapter Italiano (AHNA Italia), Italia
6.Ordine delle Professioni Infermieristiche (OPI) di Palermo, Italia
7.Ordine delle Professioni Infermieristiche (OPI) di Caltanissetta, Italia
8.Ordine delle Professioni Infermieristiche (OPI) di Trapani, Italia
9.Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Italia
10. FISIEO (Federazione Italiana Shiatsu Insegnanti e Operatori), Italia
11.IRCCS ISMETT (Mediterranean Institute for Transplantation and Advanced Specialized Therapies), Palermo, Italia

*Autore corrispondente: Marika Lo Monaco, RN, MSN, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

RIASSUNTO

Introduzione. L’umanizzazione delle cure e la gestione dello stress professionale (inclusi burnout e compassion fatigue) richiedono modelli pedagogici precoci focalizzati sulla cura di sé. Il progetto internazionale HumaNS (Humanizing Nursing Students) introduce percorsi formativi basati sul framework del Human Caring di Jean Watson volto a formare futuri infermieri consapevoli dell’importanza che prendersi cura di sé e degli altri garantisce cure umanizzate e più sicure. Obiettivo. Descrivere la struttura, l’attuazione e i risultati di partecipazione del seminario itinerante “Self Caring on the Road” volto a promuovere la consapevolezza del benessere personale in studenti del primo anno di infermieristica e in facilitatori alla formazione al Caring. Metodi. Disegno di tipo report descrittivo-esperienziale. L’intervento formativo ha integrato lezioni teoriche sui 10 Caritas Processes e laboratori pratico-esperienziali di terapie complementari (Mindfulness, Qi Gong, Shiatsu, Scrittura Espressiva) nei quattro poli didattici regionali, condotti da ricercatori di scienze infermieristiche, docenti universitari ed esperti del Watson Caring Science institute arrivati da Stati Uniti e Canada nella settimana dal 4 al 9 maggio 2026. Risultati. Il seminario ha coinvolto attivamente oltre 600 studenti di Infermieristica e Nursing dell’Università di Palermo. La sessione finale di “formazione dei formatori” ha visto la co-partecipazione attiva degli Ordini Professionali (OPI) territoriali e di esperti internazionali. Conclusioni. Attraverso l’integrazione strutturata dell’educazione al self-caring nei curricula accademici infermieristici, che rappresenta una strategia formativa preventiva del rischio di burnout dei giovani studenti, la Sicilia occidentale getta le basi per una formazione alla presa in carico realmente umanizzata che veda il paziente al centro del processo di assistenza senza dimenticare l’importanza di prendersi cura di sé per meglio potersi prendere cura degli altri.
Parole chiave: nursing, self-caring, umanizzazione delle cure, formazione infermieristica; terapie complementari, Progetto HumaNS

ABSTRACT

Background. The humanization of healthcare environments and the mitigation of professional distress (including burnout and compassion fatigue) necessitate early pedagogical models centered on self-care. The international “HumaNS” (Humanizing Nursing Students) project introduces educational pathways grounded in the Human Caring framework. Objective. To describe the architectural framework, operational implementation, and participation outcomes of the traveling seminar “Self-Caring on the Road,” aimed at fostering personal well-being awareness among first-year nursing students and educational facilitators. Methods. This study adopts a descriptive-experiential report design. The educational intervention integrated theoretical lectures on the 10 Caritas Processes with practical-experiential workshops on complementary modalities (Mindfulness, Qi Gong, Shiatsu, and Expressive Writing), administered across four regional educational hubs from May 4th to May 9th, 2026. Results. The seminar actively engaged over 600 first-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and international Nursing students at the University of Palermo. The concluding “Train-the-Trainers” session featured collaborative engagement from territorial Professional Nursing Orders (OPI) and international experts. Conclusions. Structured integration of self-caring within undergraduate nursing curricula constitutes a strategic, preventive measure against early professional exhaustion. By prioritizing the health of the caregiver, Western Sicily establishes a sustainable foundation for genuinely humanized, holistic patient care.
Keywords: nursing, self-caring, healthcare humanization, nursing education, complementary therapies,  HumaNS Project.

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