Mental Health Nursing Education Research Articles

Stepping Up Psychosis: The Use of Virtual Reality in Pre-registration Mental Health Nursing Education

BackgroundThere has been growing interest in the development of mental health-related simulation packages for pre-registration mental health nursing education. The authors will present the creation of a simulation package created for pre-registration mental health nurses during their final year. MethodThe simulated experience consisted of a five-minute Virtual Reality (VR) recording which shares the experience of living with symptoms of psychoses. The package, not only looked at the hearing of voices, but in addition enhances the user's experience by simulating visual perception and placing the student within a secluded environment. This was delivered to students in their final six months of the program. ResultsStudents noted the increase in empathy for patients experiencing these symptoms and how it would enhance the care they gave. ConclusionThe results of this innovation demonstrate how virtual reality (VR) could be used to standardize student nurses' education in the field of mental health.

The Memoir of a Ghost: The Invisible Plight of Mental Health Nurse Education in the United Kingdom Following the Nursing and Midwifery Council's Move Towards Genericism.

The aim of this paper is to identify barriers to quality mental health nurse education in the United Kingdom and show these through the sharing of personal experiences of working as a mental health nurse academic. Since the Nursing and Midwifery Council introduced their 'future nurse' education standards in 2018, mental health content for mental health nurses has been argued to have been marginalised. The sense of a diluted mental health nurse education was supported by an open letter, signed by over 100 mental health nurses, with representation across 33 universities. Nonetheless, the approach taken by the NMC has been defended. Meanwhile, mental health nurse academics all over the United Kingdom are having varying experiences, some of incredible discomfort and invalidation. The movement 'mental health deserves better' arose through many of these mental health nurses feeling they had no representation or channel to voice their concerns. This is a personal position paper which outlines barriers to autonomy for mental health nurse academics, and shares personal opinion on experiences which have impacted the ability to deliver a depth of knowledge, skill and critical thinking to students, impacting the quality of new mental health nurse graduates. The issue is discussed using contemporary literature to support lines of argument, which are augmented by personal experiences of working in nurse education. There are complex interconnected issues within nurse education which can hinder the autonomy of mental health nursing to decide its own future. This paper recounts a personal journey. Often we cannot understand the failings of a system until we try to navigate it from the inside.

Navigating challenges and shaping futures through mental health nursing in the United Kingdom.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Mental health nurses in the UK play a critical role in providing care, advocating for patients and navigating the complexities associated with mental health challenges. Acknowledging and supporting the efforts of mental health nurses is essential for advancing mental health care, promoting inclusivity and fostering community resilience amidst ongoing challenges within existing health care organisations. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: Highlights the integral role of mental health nurses in the UK's health system as both care providers and advocates, underpinning the importance of addressing the growing demand for mental health services Introduces innovative digital tools like the 'Hub of Hope' and the potential of social prescribing as effective strategies for improving access to mental health care and support. Emphasises the need for enhanced support and recognition of mental health nurses to ensure the sustainable advancement of mental health services and the well-being of communities. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: Mental health nurses should integrate innovative digital tools like the 'Hub of Hope' into their practice to improve signposting and access to mental health resources for individuals in need. There is a critical need for ongoing education and support for mental health nurses within practice settings to maintain their well-being and enhance their ability to provide holistic care despite increasing clinical demands. Advocacy for increased investment in mental health resources and support for research activities lead by mental health nurses is essential to address current service gaps and promote the development of more effective interventions.

Revolutionizing Mental Health Nursing Education: Virtual Reality Simulation for Understanding and Intervening in Major Depressive Disorder and Suicidal Thoughts.

Utilizing Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best Practice™, a virtual reality (VR) platform was created to meet American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essential and Quad Council Public Health competencies. The scenario, involving major depressive disorder with suicidal ideation and alcohol dependency, engages learners in assessing suicide risk, recognizing symptoms, and recommending treatment. Eighty-four prelicensure nursing students have taken part in this mental health VR simulation since spring 2023. Although no significant difference was observed between pre-post knowledge, learners appreciated the VR experience. Student ratings were lowest for how physically demanding the task was and highest for their focus and interest in successfully doing the simulation.

"It's really important work…and celebrating that, I think, is really important" - co-produced qualitative research into future of mental health nurse education.

The education of mental health nurses has long remained a contentious topic in the UK and internationally. This research seeks to gather the perspectives of those directly affected by mental health nurse education. To investigate what knowledge, skills and values current mental health nursing students, graduate mental health nurses and people with lived experience of accessing mental health services believe should be paramount within pre-registration education. Data was gathered through focus groups involving a mix of pre- and post-qualified mental health nurses and people with lived experience of accessing mental health services. Data was collected through audio recordings, which were transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis. The analysis generated four themes of: (i) Values and ethics-based education, (ii) Self-awareness, (iii) Understanding and therapeutically being with others and (iv) Specialism versus Genericism. The findings speak to the special nature of mental health nursing and the need for students to develop specialist mental health knowledge and skills, alongside self-knowledge. The findings provide a unique insight into the aspects of pre-registration nursing felt to be most valuable by the three participant groups in this study. The findings reiterate the importance nurse education celebrating the specialism of mental health nursing and adds to the growing weight of literature for increased specialism with future education standard reviews.

Scaffolded Simulation in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Education

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of using scaffolded clinical simulations on nursing students’ confidence in clinical reasoning, clinical judgment, and critical thinking skills. Next, we also attempted to gain insights into students’ perceptions of the benefits of scaffolded clinical simulations. Method: We used a mixed-methods research design to investigate the impacts of using scaffolded clinical simulations on 133 second-semester baccalaureate nursing students’ confidence in clinical reasoning, clinical judgment, and critical thinking skills. Results: Findings from this study indicate that students who perceived the benefits of scaffolded simulation activities (i.e., peer observations, debriefings, and self-reflections) were more likely to engage in this deep learning process, which in turn led to their higher confidence in clinical reasoning, clinical judgment, and critical thinking skills. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that scaffolded simulations in psychiatric clinical settings, coupled with the novice to expert model in nursing education, are a valuable tool for preparing nursing students for the rigors of clinical practice, despite decreased in-person client experiences in nursing programs. Implications: This study has implications for designing and implementing scaffolded clinical simulations that foster clinical judgment and help students perform tasks with which they are already familiar, while new responsibilities are introduced throughout the semester.

Mental health deserves better: Resisting the dilution of specialist pre-registration mental health nurse education in the United Kingdom.

This article aims to draw attention to increasing genericism in nurse education in the United Kingdom, which sees less specialist mental health education for mental health nursing students and offers opposition to such direction. In 2018, the Nursing and Midwifery Council produced the 'Future Nurse' standards which directed changes to pre-registration nurse education. This led to dissatisfaction from many mental health nurses, specifically regarding reduced mental health content for students studying mental health nursing. Concerns have been raised through public forum and evolved into a grassroots national movement 'Mental Health Deserves Better' (#MHDeservesBetter). This is a position paper which presents the perspective of many mental health nurse academics working at universities within the United Kingdom. Mental health nurse academics collaborated to develop ideas and articulate arguments and perspectives which present a strong position on the requirement for specialist pre-registration mental health nurse education. The key themes explored are; a conflict of ideologies in nursing, no parity of esteem, physical health care needs to be contextualized, the unique nature of mental health nursing, ethical tensions and values conflict, implications for practice, necessary improvements overlooked and the dangers of honesty and academic 'freedom'. The paper concludes by asserting a strong position on the need for a change of direction away from genericism and calls on mental health nurses to rise from the ashes to advocate for a quality education necessary to ensure quality care delivery. The quality of mental health care provided by mental health nurses has many influences, yet the foundation offered through pre-registration education is one of the most valuable. If the education of mental health nurses does not attend to the distinct and unique role of the mental health nurse, standards of mental health care may diminish without assertive action from mental health nurses and allies.

“It Is OK Not to Be OK”: Nursing Students’ Backgrounds and Perceptions of Mental Health Stigma and Implications for Mental Health Nursing Education

ABSTRACT There has been a notable increase in reported mental illnesses in recent years. Although mental illness is being discussed more openly, stigma toward mental illness still exists. Stigma can result in inadequate care for people with mental illnesses. Students come into nursing from a variety of backgrounds and these backgrounds influence their nursing clinical judgments, especially related to caring for people with mental illnesses. A qualitative descriptive analysis was conducted using 60 undergraduate nursing student reflections on their backgrounds and perceptions of mental health stigma. Students wrote about their Previously Held Beliefs and the Influence of Culture, Overcoming Stigma through their Experiences with Friends and Family, Influence of Popular Culture, and Personal Experiences, and their New Understanding of mental illness and what that means for their future nursing practice. These findings have important implications for nursing education including providing more opportunities for nursing students to care for people with mental illnesses, reframing how mental health content is delivered in undergraduate nursing programs, and providing additional support for students with personal mental illnesses.

Impact of Standardised Patient Simulation Training on Clinical Competence, Knowledge, and Attitudes in Mental Health Nursing Education

BACKGROUND: The limited practical placement opportunities in mental health care often induce uncertainty among nursing students. To ameliorate this, simulation training, especially with standardized patients (SPs), is employed to promote clinical competence, allowing students to navigate the complexities associated with mental health nursing, including stigma and stereotypes.
 
 OBJECTIVE: This systematic literature review primarily aims to explore and synthesise the studies in simulation education research conducted related to the effects of SPs on clinical competence, knowledge and attitudes of undergraduate pre-registration mental health nursing students.
 
 METHODS: following the systematic literature review approach, a comprehensive search was conducted across five electronic databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, and Scopus. The PICO model guided the identification of search terms. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) evaluated study quality.
 
 RESULTS: Ten studies were included, all examining the impact of SP simulations on undergraduate nursing students. Of these, five evaluated confidence and anxiety levels, while two assessed competence and satisfaction. Other aspects such as motivation, preparation, knowledge, communication skills, and critical thinking were examined individually. The collective results indicate SP simulation as a potentially efficacious strategy for enhancing competencies in graduate nursing education.
 
 CONCLUSION: Across all studies, SPs in simulation methods exerted a positive influence on mental health nursing education, bolstering students' preparation for clinical practice by reducing anxiety and fostering confidence, competence, knowledge, and communication skills. However, limitations including insufficient supervision, small sample sizes, homogenous samples, and absence of control groups were present in all studies. Future research should address these issues to fortify evidence supporting the use of SPs in mental health nursing education.
 
 RECOMMENDATIONS: Further robust, experimental research with larger sample sizes and validated assessment tools is needed to corroborate these findings and explore the effects of SP simulations on a wider array of learning outcomes.

Incorporating Anti-Stigma Training Into Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Education

Anti-stigma interventions have become important worldwide in light of the negative consequences that the stigma of mental illness has on the recovery to health of individuals with mental illness as well as on general quality of care and public mental health. Thus, psychiatric mental health nursing courses are being targeted with early anti-stigma interventions to improve related awareness and skills among future nurses. This article firstly elaborates on the importance of the stigma issue in psychiatric care and assesses the empirical effectiveness of anti-stigma interventions in psychiatric mental health nursing education. Next, a pedagogical exemplar of integrating a "recovery patients as educators" and anti-stigma intervention into an innovative psychiatric mental health nursing course is demonstrated. Community psychiatric patients, who traditionally receive passive care from healthcare providers, were invited to attend psychiatric mental health courses with the goal of becoming educators in their communities. These courses offer nursing students and patients opportunities to interact as equals and helps these students become aware of their values, attitudes, and prejudices with regard to mental illness. This approach may help reframe their experience and learning, and guide them to clarify and integrate anti-stigma values and attitudes into their work and life. Through such experience sharing, nursing educators may be expected to brainstorm and implement the pedagogical value of anti-stigma.

From Subjective Opinion to Medical Fact: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Mental Health Nursing Education

Using various methods and strategies of Critical Discourse Analysis, this article demonstrates how certain influential nursing texts generate a certain biomedical framing of the mental health nursing assessment. Accordingly, the mental health assessment in undergraduate nursing education becomes imbricated in processes of governance that legitimate psychiatric discourse by 1. Presenting the opinions and judgements of mental health professionals as objective scientific facts; 2. Utilizing grammatical mood and modality to convey a matter-of-fact urgency and necessity for psychiatric intervention that is made to appear largely through conjecture and passive logical leaps; and 3. Through hybrid fusion with other scientific and medical disciplines that lend credibility to psychiatry through association. While we largely focus on critique of the mental health assessment, we buttress this critique using two other institutional texts that draw on a psychiatric framing of mental health, to demonstrate how these texts reinforce and work in discursive cohesion with the mental health assessment. We conclude by discussing the implications of these consequences to nursing education and nursing students and educators alike.

Using lived experience stories and anecdotes to enhance mental health nurse education

Over the past few years, there has been a move towards incorporating ‘lived experience’ stories and anecdotes in the education of mental health nurses. This typically involves a service user sharing their experiences of their mental health condition, the care they have received and the effects this had on them. In this article, the authors propose that the use of lived experience stories about, and delivered by, nurse educators and healthcare professionals themselves can also be an important component of nurse education. Often nurse educators tend to use such stories and anecdotes in response to students’ requests for clarification or examples, but the authors suggest that there should be a shift towards using them as a foundation for their teaching sessions. This approach could support students to engage with the emotional, ethical and spiritual aspects of the issues being discussed, rather than focusing solely on the intellectual aspects.

Online Gamified Quizzes in Undergraduate Mental Health Nursing Education: Thematic Analysis of Students’ Qualitative Views

Online Gamified Quizzes in Undergraduate Mental Health Nursing Education: Thematic Analysis of Students’ Qualitative Views

Implementing Trauma-Informed Education Practices in Undergraduate Mental Health Nursing Education

Nursing students may have risk factors for trauma reactivation through learning activities conducted as part of their education and training. Trauma-informed education practices (TIEP) could help reduce this risk. Course policies, content, procedures, and support structures consistent with the tenets of TIEP were implemented in undergraduate mental health courses with traditional third-year nursing students at two universities. Students responded positively to the implementation of TIEP. Most (92%) qualitative feedback students provided in formal evaluations was directly related to at least one principle of TIEP, most commonly "promoting social, emotional, and academic safety." Some students (39.3%) interpreted TIEP as demonstrations of "genuine" caring for the students as individuals and their own mental health. Integrating TIEP into an undergraduate nursing mental health course is feasible and beneficial and allows faculty to role model skills and values central to nursing practice. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(12):707-711.].

Setting the Stage for Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Education: Outcomes of a Simulated Patient Pilot Program

BackgroundSimulation-based learning experiences (SBLEs) with simulated patients provide valuable and realistic learning opportunities for psychiatric mental health nursing skill building in a safe environment. MethodAn interprofessional faculty group collaborated and trained undergraduate theater students to serve as simulated patients in psychiatric mental health SBLEs for pre-licensure nursing students in two cases focused on therapeutic communication and psychiatric nursing assessment. ResultsA total of 147 nursing students and 13 theater students participated in the SBLEs of two clinical scenarios. Responses to the Simulation Evaluation Tool-Modified (SET-M) and open-ended questions revealed that both student groups benefited from this learning experience and reported increased confidence in relevant skills as a result. ConclusionNursing students reported increased confidence in assessment and communication. Theater students gained confidence in acting skills and appreciation for the SP role. Lessons learned will improve future iterations of the SBLEs and inform program scale.

Creative Theory in Psychiatric & Mental Health Nursing, Alternative Teaching Model, and a New Breakthrough in Psychiatric Home Care Nursing

Although many resources have been explored and applied in our environment, personal internal and external resources have yet to be adequately exploited. A nursing theory and model for internal and external resources may be developed and discussed deeply (Zauszniewski, 2018) to provide newer vision and direction, while helping face the challenges of caring for patients with psychiatric disorders or mental obstacles. Recently, many breaking news stories have highlighted the hidden worries affecting our society due to patients with psychiatric disorders who live in the community. This has resulted in people, including student nurses, to retain their stigma toward mental illnesses and psychiatric patients and express negative perceptions and fear toward psychiatric patients (Choi et al., 2016). Therefore, it has been a challenge of psychiatric nursing education to develop and use a new and more-acceptable teaching model to help student nurses better understand and hold a more-correct perception toward psychiatric patients. The practice of clinical nursing profession still needs to be focused while we remain committed to psychiatric nursing education. The number of psychiatric patients who need more continuous care in community settings has increased significantly. The needs of psychiatric home care nursing should be particularly emphasized, as the manpower / capabilities necessary for psychiatric nursing are limited in community health nursing practice (Huang & Wang, 2015). More resources and psychiatric practice nursing professionals should be made available to communities for continuous psychiatric care (Wu et al., 2016). Strong and authentic partnerships are very important to acute care, education, evidence-based research, and practical policy development in psychiatric & mental health nursing (McInnis-Perry et al., 2015). In this column, resourcefulness theory is introduced as a new theory that may be applied in the psychiatric and mental health nursing practice; alternative teaching models are recommended for psychiatric nursing education; and finally, the importance of overcoming the difficulties and addressing the needs in community psychiatric home care nursing is also emphasized. It is hoped that this approach will help facilitate the further, positive advance of psychiatric and mental health nursing.

Outcomes of Consumer Involvement in Mental Health Nursing Education: An Integrative Review.

This integrative review analyzed the research on consumer involvement in mental health nursing education in the last decade. We aimed to derive the main contents, methods, and outcomes of education using consumer involvement for mental health nursing students. We searched six electronic databases using English and Korean search terms; two authors independently reviewed the 14 studies that met the selection criteria. Studies on the topic were concentrated in Australia and some European countries; most of them used a qualitative design. The main education subject was recovery, and consumers tended to actively participate in education planning. Moreover, students’ perceptions about education using consumer involvement and people with mental health problems changed positively, as well as their experiences of participating in mental health nursing education. There is a lack of interest in the topic in Asian countries, including Korea. Thus, future studies in Asian countries are needed to conduct qualitative and in-depth explorations of students’ experiences regarding an educational intervention that uses consumer involvement as a tool rigorously designed for mental health nursing education. Consumer involvement can be an innovative strategy to produce high-quality mental health nurses by minimizing the gap between theory and practice in the undergraduate program.

StARTalking: An Arts and Health Program to Support Undergraduate Mental Health Nursing Education

Community arts and health programs are recognized as powerful contributors to mental health and wellbeing, reducing social isolation and strengthening community connection. They attract individuals with diverse lived experience and are invaluable learning environments for consumers and undergraduate mental health nursing students. This paper reports on the evaluation of StARTalking, a community arts and health program in Melbourne, Australia. The study aimed to better understand the consumer and student experience participating in the program. The themes, Finding connection/Taking time out, clearly indicate that embedding arts and health in mental health nursing education supports consumer and student learning, health and wellbeing.

Exploring Online Mentorship as a Potential Strategy to Enhance Postgraduate Mental Health Nursing Education through Online Delivery: A Review of the Literature

The value of mentorship to professional development in nursing education has been consistently demonstrated in the literature. The benefits for mental health nursing are particularly noted for attracting nursing students and new graduates into this area of practice. The proliferation of online delivery of mental health nursing programs poses particular issues in providing mentorship to students. Despite changes to the mode of educational delivery, the mentorship literature primarily addresses face-to-face processes. The aim of this paper is to present a review of the literature pertaining to online mentorship. A literature search of the CinAHL, Medline, ProQuest and Google Scholar databases was undertaken to identify relevant literature. Hand searches of reference lists were also conducted. The findings demonstrate the paucity of literature addressing this topic. Evaluation of online mentorship programs are particularly scarce, small scale and usually conducted at one site only. Few descriptions of the content and structure are provided meaning that program development cannot benefit from existing knowledge and expertise. There is an urgent need for online mentorship accompanied by rigorous and systematic evaluation frameworks to maximize the benefits of mentorship to an online environment.

Improving Service User Involvement in Mental Health Nursing Education: Suggestions from Those with Lived Experience

Service user involvement in mental health nursing education is increasing and a developing evidence base is demonstrating more positive attitudes towards people labelled with a mental illness. To date, most research on this approach has focussed on the perspectives of nursing students, with very limited research drawing on the expertise and opinions of service users. The aim of this study was to explore potential improvements in mental health nursing education, and ways service user involvement can be enhanced as defined by service users themselves. An international qualitative research project was undertaken involving focus groups with service users (n = 50) from Australia and five European countries. The research was coproduced between Experts by Experience (service users) and mental health nurse academics. Data were analysed thematically. Findings reflected two broad themes: (1) improvements to content, including: further emphasis on developing emotional intelligence, understanding mental distress and broader context of care; (2) Improvements to service user involvement, including: support, format, and teaching and learning techniques. These findings provide direction for maximising the benefits of service user involvement and show the value of the expertise of service users.