Learning may be enhanced in mental health nursing education by applying virtual reality technologies in which students may safely practice communication and assessment skills with simulated patients. The purpose of this descriptive study was to assess the effectiveness of a Second Life(®) (SL) virtual simulation as a teaching strategy for undergraduate mental health nursing students. Data were collected via a researcher-developed survey questionnaire. Students perceived the simulation to be moderately effective as an educational strategy and slightly difficult as a technical program. Positive aspects included client assessment in an environment where mistakes were without consequence, working from home, and novelty. Drawbacks were dressing and maneuvering the avatar and lack of realism. Correlations were found between educational effectiveness and technical difficulty and between educational effectiveness and age of the computer. SL virtual simulation has potential to provide unique, easily accessible, safe, and fun learning for mental health nursing students.
This pilot clinical trial tested effectiveness of a poetry writing intervention for family caregivers of elders with dementia. This paper presents findings from a larger study using mixed methods to examine outcome variables of self-transcendence, resilience, depressive symptoms, and subjective caregiver burden. Findings reported here focus on qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews conducted with participants following their poetry writing experience. A grounded theory approach was used. Themes that arose from the data support a mid-range theory of self-affirmation in caregivers with subthemes of achievement, catharsis, greater acceptance, empathy, self-awareness, reflection, creative and fun, positive challenge, and helping others.
An aesthetic pattern of knowing involves moving beyond classifications and knowing the whole individual. Students are taught to provide holistic care to patients, but instructors evaluate students primarily from a scientific, empirical perspective. To add balance between the art and the science of nursing practice, students were assigned to write an original poem about their clinical experience in mental health nursing. This article reports a qualitative analysis of those poems to expand the instructors' knowledge of the student experience. Five themes and one consistent pattern were identified. Insights and implications of student poetry writing are explored.
A hearing voices simulation (Deegan, 1996) was conducted with mental health nursing students (N = 87) at a large Midwestern university. The goals of this simulation were to change attitudes and decrease stigma. Students used mp3 players to listen to an audio simulation while simultaneously engaging in activities requiring focus and concentration. The Attitude toward Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ; Cunningham, Sobell, & Chow, 1993) was administered pre-and post-simulation and open-ended questions about the experience also were asked. Responses to questions demonstrated increased patience, tolerance, understanding, and empathy among participants. Statistical data demonstrated significant changes in participants post-simulation. However, although students reported increased comfort being around persons hearing voices, they were less likely to acknowledge individual behavior as indicative of recovery. In this article, we discuss how these unexpected outcomes may be related to a subtle illness versus recovery focus. We emphasize how educators must be mindful and reflective about beliefs and attitudes that inform their teaching, and ultimately, their students' learning.
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