Background: This randomized controlled, pretest-post-test intervention study examined the effect of distance reiki on state test anxiety and test performance.
Method: First-year nursing students (n = 71) were randomized into two groups. One week before the examination, intervention group participants performed reiki remotely for 20 minutes for 4 consecutive days, and control group participants received no intervention.
Results: The intervention group had lower posttest cognitive and psychosocial subscale scores than pretest scores (p > .05). The control group had a significantly higher mean posttest physiological subscale score than pretest score (p < .05). Final grade point averages were not significantly different between the intervention and control groups (p > .05). One quarter of the intervention group participants noted reiki reduced their stress and helped them perform better on the examination.
Conclusion: Reiki is a safe and easy-to-practice method to help students cope with test anxiety. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(5):298-303.].