PERCEIVED STRESS AND SENSE OF BELONGING IN DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE STUDENTS JANET E. RESOP REILLY, DNP, APNP-BC, RN,* AND JOYCE J. FITZPATRICK, PHD, RN, FAANy There is little research among doctor of nursing practice (DNP) students, a fast-growing population of nurses engaged in doctoral study. In this descriptive correlational study, levels of perceived stress, sense of belonging, and the relationship between these variables were examined. The sample included 89 female, predominantly White, post-master's DNP students from a Midwest university. A statistically significant inverse relationship (r = -.49, P b .01) between perceived stress and sense of belonging was found. Recommendations for future research include additional studies of perceived stress and sense of belonging in diverse DNP student populations and in various DNP education models. (Index words: doctor of nursing practice (DNP); DNP students; Perceived stress; Sense of belonging) J Prof Nurs 25:81–86, 2009. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. S TRESS HAS BEEN identified in research to impede concentration, problem solving, decision making, completion of work, and other abilities necessary for student learning (Byars, 2005). Although students experience affirmation and optimism toward future opportunities, completing doctoral education undoubt- edly gives rise to individual ambiguity in self-efficacy, emotions, and behaviors (Byars, 2005; Golden et al., 2005; Hughes & Kleist, 2005; Kirby, Biever, Martinez, & Gomez, 2004; McDermott, 2002; Piercy et al., 2005). Many nurses are unaware and unprepared for the roller coaster of affect, behavior, and attitude changes experi- enced along with the stress of doctoral education. Defined as the psychological experience of fit and valued personal involvement in a system (Hagerty, Lynch-Sauer, Patusky, Bouwsema, & Colier, 1992), sense of belonging is another critical factor in students' achievement and behavior. Sense of belonging has been identified as a foundation for a variety of emotional and behavioral responses (Zielinski, 2004). Sense of belong- ing affects students' feelings about themselves, their engagement with other students and coursework, and their academic achievement (Osterman, 2000). Previously unknown and unexplored in the literature, this study was to describe the levels of perceived stress and sense of belonging and the relationship between these variables among nurses enrolled in a post-master's doctor of nursing practice (DNP) program. Analysis of perceived stress and sense of belonging in DNP students is important because many nurses have a tendency to take care of others but ignore their own needs (Zerwekh & Claborn, 2006). This topic is also timely because DNP programs and the number of DNP students have grown over fivefold in recent years. Nine DNP programs were listed by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in 2005; the number had increased to 60 DNP programs by early 2008 (AACN, 2005; AACN, 2008). How do the educational strategies in the newly developed DNP programs affect students? The cohort model, for example, has been found to encourage sense of belonging and enhance student learning by providing an essential, effective and supportive environment for learning challenging and unfamiliar material (Ross, Stafford, Church-Pupke, and Bondy, 2006; Wall, Novak, & Wilkerson, 2005). Whether or not the cohort model affected DNP students' perceived stress and sense of belonging was also explored in this study. Background There were only two studies in the literature that involved students, perceived stress, and sense of belong- ing. Researchers in these two studies found that, when ⁎ University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI. †Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH. Address correspondence to Dr. Reilly: University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, 2420 Nicolet Drive, Green Bay, WI 54311. E-mail: reillyj@uwgb.edu 8755-7223/$ - see front matter Journal of Professional Nursing, Vol 25, No 2 (March–April), 2009: pp 81–86 81 © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.profnurs.2008.10.002