Are you prepared to S.A.V.E. your nursing student from suicide?

Abstract

According to the most recently available data presented in the Statistical Abstract of the United States 1994 (United States Bureau of the Census, 1994), 17,100 young Americans (15 to 44 years old) died in 1991 due to suicide. At no other time during the life span were suicide rates so high. Suicide among college and university students is estimated by some to be 50% higher than for other Americans of comparable age (Westefeld & Pattilo, 1987). Not only is suicide considered by many authors to be the number one health problem on the nation's campuses (Mathiasen, 1988), but the suicide rate for this population has tripled over the past 25 years (Hardin & Weast, 1989). Professional nursing students could perhaps be at an even higher risk for suicide than other college students. Manicini, Lavecchia, and Clegg point out that "[n]ursing students are more doubtful than other college students about their academic performance. They encounter stress in adjusting to a rigorous program of theory and practice. The reality is often far different from a prospective student's image of it" (cited in Lampkin, Cannon, & Fairchild, 1985, p. 148). Because of the longevity of contact hours spent with nursing students in both lecture and clinical milieus, nursing faculty are in a uniquely favorable position to identify and assess those students who appear to be at risk for suicide. In addition, as most nurse educators provide supportive relationships, rich with caring and trust for their students, distressed students are usually open to talking to a faculty member. If a suicidal risk is found during the assessment interview, the faculty member should then provide an immediate referral for further psychiatric evaluation and intervention. To assist faculty in the quick recall of the essential components of this helping process the acronym S.A.V.E. is used: 1. S: Suicidal behaviors. 2. A: Assessment interview. 3. V: Value student. 4. E: Evaluation-Referral.