The Effect of Distance Reiki on State Test Anxiety and Test Performance: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Nursing Students

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.]