Alternative Teaching in Psychiatric Nursing: The Example of Community Psychiatric Rehabilitation

Abstract

Psychiatric nursing is a relatively abstract thus difficult discipline for students to master. Moreover, the prevalent stigmatization of mental illness in society inhibits the learning motivation and effectiveness of nursing students in this discipline and increases the anxiety of these students during their initial psychiatric clinical practicum. The experiential learning strategy, which allows direct interactions between students and community-based patients enrolled in psychological rehabilitation programs, is discussed in this article. As patients share their illness journey in class, nursing students are better able to experience these patients' sufferings and thus in a better position to clarify related knowledge, develop empathy, and ease self-perceived anxiety prior to beginning their psychiatric clinical practicum.