Preliminary analysis of physiological changes of nursing students during training

Long-term exposure to stress has been associated with chronic diseases, depression, and immune disorders. The precise detection and assessment of stress depends on personalized physiological monitoring and assessment of influence of personal and workplace factors We monitored nursing students during training on a high fidelity simulator in the Real-time Physiological Monitoring Lab at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. In this paper we present the preliminary results of this pilot study. A total of 14 participants were recorded: 12 female and 2 male subjects, 23-46 years old with an average age of 32.8 years. We analyzed heart rate, Heart Rate Variability (HRV), respiration, and physical activity. The results indicate significant strain on subjects during simulation: heart rate increased 16.7%, from 82.8 to 96.6 bpm (p