Elsevier

Nurse Education in Practice

Volume 26, September 2017, Pages 46-52
Nurse Education in Practice

Original research
Simulation in mental health nurse education: The development, implementation and evaluation of an educational innovation

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2017.06.005Get rights and content

Highlights

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    Simulation can be an important tool for mental health education.

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    Mental health students value simulation as an active learning approach.

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    Simulation supports the development of complex decision making skills.

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    Simulation provides an opportunity for students to practice autonomously.

Abstract

Simulation is an important learning approach for the development of skills for healthcare practice. However, it remains under used in the education of mental health practitioners. This article examines the development, implementation and evaluation of a simulated learning experience for final year undergraduate BSc mental health nursing students in the UK. Scenarios involving managing care in an acute in patient ward and community older persons' team were designed to enable students to develop their complex decision making skills. An evaluation of the simulation experience was undertaken. This was informed by the principles of improvement science methodology and data was collected from the student participants using questionnaires. The findings indicated that simulation provided a realistic environment in which students were able to develop skills and manage clinical situations autonomously without fear of being assessed or making mistakes. Reflecting Dieckmann et al.'s (2007) position that simulation is a social situation in itself, the learning approach enabled mental health students to both experience the safety of the Higher Education setting and also the reality of clinical practice. Simulation may therefore provide an important tool to prepare students for the responsibilities of a qualified nurse.

Section snippets

Introductions

The use of simulation as a teaching strategy in health education has expanded exponentially in recent years. Simulation entails the creation of a situation in the classroom that enables the participant to act naturally, therefore replicating an environment as close to the practice setting as possible in order to facilitate skills development (Jeffries, 2005). The evolution of new technologies available to support learning has enabled simulation to be employed in a diverse range of contexts.

The

Developing a simulation learning experience for mental health nursing students

The simulation workshop was part of an under-graduate (BSc) nursing course, sequenced immediately prior to the students undertaking their final management clinical placement. In the UK, undergraduate students opt to study in a specific field of practice, from the start of their nurse training (NMC, 2010). These are child, learning disabilities, adult or mental health. This enables them to develop specialist knowledge at a pre-registration level. The students participating in the simulation

Evaluating the simulation

To evaluate the simulation exercise, an approach broadly informed by improvement science methodology was undertaken (Rowley et al., 2014). Improvement science offers a rigorous and practical approach to understanding and implementing quality improvement (The Health Foundation, 2011). As such it “focuses on systematically and rigorously exploring what works to improve quality in healthcare and the best ways to measure and disseminate this to ensure positive change” (The Health Foundation, 2011:

Findings

All 24 student participants reported that the simulation experience was relevant to their nursing practice. They also identified that it had either some or a significant impact on their confidence, clinical and communication skills. These results are summarised in Table 2 below.

Analysis of the qualitative feedback from the students identified three overarching themes: “reflective of real life situations”, “practicing skills in a safe environment” and “being in control of situations”. These are

Discussion

The findings from the evaluation highlight the positive nature of the learning experience for the mental health students. The key points raised by the student participants emphasise the benefits of simulation to be: facilitating the management of complex situations independently; promoting decision making; and reflecting and justifying the decisions made.

Since 2010 in the United Kingdom the Nursing and Midwifery Council standards (NMC, 2010) have specified that pre-registration nurse education

Implications for practice

This development and evaluation of simulation within a mental health nurse education context has illuminated some of the potential benefits the approach offers as part of a flexible learning pedagogy. By focusing on the role and use of simulated patients, rather than the technological aspects more widely reported in the literature, the approach gives students the opportunity to develop their confidence, communication and other clinical skills. Whilst it may be expected that a mental health

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest to declare for this submission.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the individuals who participated as simulated patients, Kyri Gregoriou who assisted with the development of the scenarios and Dr Richard Churchill for his simulation expertise.

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