During their first year, students Ryleigh, Camryn, Ashton, Jasmine, Aislynn and Jenna, along with now–third-year student Sage, developed a creative mental health tool called Code Calm as part of their Healthcare, Health and Wellness course.
The project began as a class assignment but quickly became something bigger—a practical, accessible way to help healthcare professionals recognize and manage stress before it leads to burnout.
A simple visual tool for a complex problem
Code Calm is a pocket-sized plastic card designed to look like a hospital ID badge. Each colour represents a simple activity proven to support wellness:
- Code Red – Exercise
- Code Orange – Reconnect
- Code Yellow – Sunlight
- Code Green – Outdoors
- Code Blue – Music
- Code Purple – Mindfulness
- Code Pink – Yoga
- Code White – Breathwork
- Code Black – Darkness
“Sometimes we get caught up in panic or stress,” the students said. “Code Calm is a quick way to pause and ask yourself: What code can help me right now? It’s really simple—and that’s the point.”
The team backed up their idea with extensive research, drawing from peer-reviewed journal articles and evidence-based wellness studies.
Supporting resilience in future nurses
Nursing instructor Shelby Montgomery said she was “blown away” by the students’ creativity and depth of research.
“They blew expectations right out of the water,” said Montgomery. “Fifty-seven per cent of new graduate nurses leave the profession within their first two years—the number one cause is burnout. We need to be teaching our students how to cope from day one.”
The students said they wanted to make something accessible, practical, and easy to use—something that could fit into a nurse’s pocket or be shared among peers.
“How can I take care of others if I can’t take care of myself?” they asked. “We wanted Code Calm to be simple enough that anyone can use it—alone or in groups—as a starter toolkit for managing stress.”
Tying wellness to CNC’s holistic approach
Ren Stelmaschuk, CNC’s Wellness Promotion Coordinator, said Code Calm aligns closely with CNC’s focus on the nine dimensions of wellness—physical, social, environmental, creative, spiritual, emotional, academic/career, intellectual, and financial.
“Code Calm touches on five or six of those dimensions,” said Stelmaschuk. “What’s remarkable is that these students built a sense of community while developing it. They recognized the importance of connection, balance, and shared humanity.”
Stelmaschuk noted that younger generations such as Gen Z and Gen Alpha are facing unprecedented levels of stress and loneliness.
“We’re seeing the effects of living in a world where people are constantly connected—often overwhelmed by decision fatigue and digital noise,” she said. “Tools like Code Calm offer a simple, colour-coded way to self-check and reset. You only have to pick one code, one action, to begin managing your stress.”
She described the students’ teamwork as “a touch-and-go relay race—each person carrying the baton toward a shared goal of balance and wellness.”
Continuing the conversation
The Code Calm project has already inspired new first-year nursing students to create their own wellness tools, and the team hopes to see the concept grow across programs at CNC.
The students also produced a short video to accompany their project, which can be viewed here: codecalm.my.canva.site