Special Issue: DNP and PhD projectArticleMental Health Simulation With Student Nurses: A Qualitative Review
Section snippets
Background
Individuals experiencing a mental health condition have long been subjected to stigmatising behaviours and discrimination from others (Arboleda-Flórez & Stuart, 2012). Extensive research has indicated the serious negative impacts these behaviours have towards people experiencing a mental health condition, including employment discrimination (Corrigan, Powell, 2012, Rüsch, 2012), social rejection (Mårtensson, Jacobsson, & Engström, 2014), homelessness (Cleary, Deacon, Jackson, Andrew, & Chan,
Aim
The aim of this study was to explore the attitudes of undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing (UGBN) students following a mental health simulation. The authors also explored any educational benefits of simulation and sought to identify if simulation resulted in any behavioural changes. The research question is as follows:
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What are the impacts of simulation-based education on undergraduate nursing students' attitudes towards the mentally ill?
Methods
This study comprises the final of three independent studies in a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design exploring UGBN students' behaviours and perceptions towards the mentally ill and the impacts of simulation on attitudes. The simulation intervention (study two) was the impetus of the focus groups and comprised a two-hour simulation with a simulated patient (SP) trained at presenting with schizophrenia. The SP presented as delusional and paranoid and was provided with a peer-reviewed
Participant Selection
Participants were recruited from a group of UGBN students from an Australian University who had previously participated in a mental health simulation (undertaken prior to this study) that was made available to a cohort of 327 students. Of these, 34 students voluntary participated in the intervention (mental health simulation), and all participants were invited to join the focus groups. In total, 13 students (2 males, 11 females) consented to participate in the semistructured focus groups. Two
Analysis
The qualitative approach to this study was thematic analysis of semistructured focus groups. Impetus for using this qualitative method was its flexibility as a research paradigm and its use in the identification and recording of themes within a set of data (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Thematic analysis is the exploration and recording of themes within a set of data (Braun & Clarke, 2006) that is presented in a narrative context (Guest, MacQueen, & Namey, 2012). As noted by Guest et al. (2012),
Theme 1: Bridging Theory-to-Practice Gap With Simulation
Participants readily identified (n = 9) mental health simulation as an important educational experience that assisted them in consolidating skills and information they had learned during their mental health theoretical and practical units. They noted that simulation was beneficial in determining aspects of learning that were deficient, and this provided a prompt to apply themselves to further, independent study:
It (simulation) can highlight where you to need to possibly go back and do some more
Discussion
This study has provided useful information regarding the attitudes of students undertaking mental health nursing towards persons experiencing a mental health condition. This research has demonstrated in accordance with other such literature that simulation has been identified as beneficial in skill acquisition (Ackermann, 2009, Coolen et al., 2012). Negative perceptions towards those experiencing a mental illness has been cited as one of the more serious issues in attracting graduate nurses to
Conclusion
Simulation is a contemporary educational modality that can offer much to mental health nursing and those students studying such units. History tells us that we need to address negative attitudes towards people experiencing a mental health challenge or they will continue to be discriminated and suffer adversity. This study has demonstrated that simulation has been beneficial in reducing anxiety, confronting stigmatising attitudes and challenging perceptions of the mentally ill.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank participants from Australian Catholic University for their involvement in this research.
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2021, Clinical Simulation in NursingCitation Excerpt :While this study was an analysis of a single nursing program with a limited sample size, it was notable that levels of stigma in the group that had the mental health simulations not only declined but declined more than students who completed a theoretical course without a simulated component. Congruent with Alexander and colleagues (2018), this is notable as it suggests that mental health simulations not only provide content (or improve) on professional practice skills, but they also have the potential to reduce mental illness stigma. This is an important finding as we consider whether simulations provide the full value of professional practice experience or if something is lost in working with standardized patients.
Funding sources: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.