Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner student perceptions of integrated collaborative care.

Abstract

To explore the outcomes of threading the Patient-Centered Integrated Behavioral Health Care Principles and Tasks Checklist (AIMS Checklist) into the curricula and experiential setting. A qualitative exploratory descriptive method with a constructivist epistemology was used to obtain in-depth student perspectives about their understanding, experiences, and process of applying Integrated Collaborative Care within the clinical setting. 24 Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Students (PMHNP) were divided into focus groups that yielded seven main themes and seven subthemes. Three of the identified themes emerged as opportunities for curriculum enhancement. The checklist was found to be a valuable tool in not only evaluating collaborative care but in closing the gap between didactic and clinical education in fostering student-preceptor discussion.