Springer Publishing and Dr. Bernadette Melnyk Launch MINDBODYSTRONG™ Digital Mental Fitness Program During National Nurse Practitioner Week

Evidence-based digital mental fitness program offers nurses and healthcare organizations practical tools to strengthen resilience, manage stress, and support clinician well-being beyond NP Week.

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of National Nurse Practitioner Week, Springer Publishing, a leading provider of healthcare education and professional development solutions, and Dr. Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, a nationally recognized leader in clinician well-being, announced the availability of MINDBODYSTRONG™, an evidence-based digital mental fitness program designed to help nurses and healthcare professionals strengthen resilience, manage stress, and improve well-being.

Available through Springer Publishing's CourseConnect digital learning platform, the seven-session program provides practical cognitive-behavioral skills that healthcare professionals can apply in their personal and professional lives. Its self-paced format makes it accessible to busy clinicians seeking practical tools to support their mental health and well-being.NP Week honors the nurse practitioners who expand access to care across the country. Dr. Melnyk created MINDBODYSTRONG™ for the clinicians who take care of everyone else, often at a cost to their own mental health. The program teaches practical skills to manage stress, build resilience, and protect well-being, in short, self-paced modules designed to fit around clinical schedules.

"NP Week is a moment to thank nurse practitioners and nurses, but appreciation has to be followed by real support. Mental fitness is a skill that can be learned and practiced, and every clinician deserves evidence-based tools to protect their well-being," said Dr. Melnyk.

For hospitals and healthcare organizations, MINDBODYSTRONG™ offers a scalable, evidence-based approach to supporting clinician well-being and professional development. Its self-paced digital format allows organizations to incorporate mental fitness training into nurse residency programs, workforce development initiatives, and broader clinician well-being strategies without requiring dedicated facilitators.

Grounded in Evidence-Based Research

A 2026 randomized controlled trial involving 501 nurses experiencing distress found that participants receiving the self-delivered, video-based MINDBODYSTRONG program alongside mental health screening and referral experienced approximately 30% lower relative risk of anxiety and depression compared with nurses receiving screening and referral alone. Participants also demonstrated significantly greater improvements in healthy lifestyle beliefs and behaviors at three and six months.

The findings were published in Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing (Melnyk BM, et al., 2026; doi:10.1111/wvn.70171).

Additional research involving 89 newly licensed nurses participating in a nurse residency program at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center demonstrated moderate to large improvements in mental health outcomes and job satisfaction, with effects sustained at six months.

The need for effective clinician well-being solutions remains significant. According to the 2026 NSI Nursing Solutions National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report, national staff RN turnover reached 17.6% in 2025, with an average replacement cost of $60,090 per bedside RN. These workforce challenges underscore the importance of organizational investments in clinician well-being, professional development, and support.

Practical Mental Fitness Skills for Healthcare Professionals

MINDBODYSTRONG is organized around three foundational concepts:

• Mind: Understanding the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and learning to reframe negative thinking.
  
  
• Body: Strengthening healthy lifestyle behaviors, including physical activity, nutrition, and sleep.
  
  
• Strong: Developing practical coping skills, problem-solving strategies, and goal-setting techniques to navigate personal and professional challenges.

The digital program includes:

• Seven self-paced modules covering cognitive-behavioral skills, healthy lifestyle practices, and strategies for strengthening resilience.
  
  
• Short video lessons ranging from approximately 9 to 20 minutes per module, accompanied by practical skills-building exercises.
  
  
• Weekly goal-setting and self-monitoring activities that encourage participants to apply what they learn.
  
  
• Convenient digital access through Springer Publishing's CourseConnect platform on desktop or tablet, without requiring a facilitator.
  The program is designed to help healthcare professionals build sustainable skills that support their mental fitness and well-being beyond the workplace.

Supporting Individual Clinicians and Healthcare Organizations

MINDBODYSTRONG is available for individual healthcare professionals as well as hospitals, health systems, nurse residency programs, and academic institutions seeking to incorporate evidence-based mental fitness training into their professional development and clinician well-being initiatives.

Individual clinicians can purchase access to the program through Springer Publishing.

Healthcare organizations can explore institutional access, request a demonstration, or discuss opportunities for pilot implementation.

Learn more about MINDBODYSTRONG:
https://go.springerpub.com/mindbodystrong

Purchase individual access:
https://www.springerpub.com/mindbodystrongtm-9780826188410.html

"Springer Publishing has supported nurses and nurse practitioners throughout their careers, and partnering with Dr. Melnyk lets us offer something nurses have asked for: a proven, practical way to care for themselves," said Frank Costanzo, Vice President of Business Development and Sales at Springer Publishing. "We are proud to bring her work to clinicians and the organizations that employ them."

MINDBODYSTRONG™ is a skills-building program and is not a substitute for therapy, an employee assistance program, or emergency care.

About Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, PhD, APRN-CNP, EBP-C, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN

Dr. Melnyk is a nationally recognized leader in evidence-based practice and clinician well-being. She is academy professor emeritus at The Ohio State University, where she served as Vice President for Health Promotion, University Chief Wellness Officer, and Dean of the College of Nursing. She developed the COPE, MINDSTRONG™, and MINDBODYSTRONG™ family of cognitive-behavioral skills-building programs and has led the clinical trials behind them.

About MINDBODYSTRONG™

MINDBODYSTRONG™: A Cognitive Behavioral Skills Building Mental Fitness Program for Healthcare Professionals is an evidence-based program that helps nurses and healthcare professionals strengthen resilience, manage stress, and support well-being through seven self-paced digital modules. Learn more at go.springerpub.com/mindbodystrong.

About Springer Publishing

Springer Publishing is an award-winning healthcare education company specializing in personalized learning experiences for nursing, behavioral health, and health sciences education. Its nationally recognized digital learning platforms, CourseConnect and ExamPrepConnect, support students, educators, and professionals from the classroom through certification and into clinical practice. Springer Publishing combines trusted, competency-aligned content from leading authors and subject matter experts with AI-enhanced learning tools, assessments, and analytics designed to improve readiness and outcomes. Learn more at Springer Publishing.

SOURCE Springer Publishing Company, LLC