An Evaluation of Mental Health Simulation with Standardized Patients

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Interviewing standardized patients (SPs) trained to model psychiatric disorders can promote student nurses’ interview skills and therapeutic communication, while at the same time increasing their confidence and decreasing anxiety. From a constructivist view of education and Kolb’s (1984; Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Edgewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall) theory of experiential learning, this article describes the development and use of SPs as a learning strategy. The use of SPs helps faculty in overcoming some of the challenges of competing for clinical sites and meeting objectives in limited clinical time. In this simulation, baccalaureate nursing students had the opportunity to interact with SPs, who had been trained to demonstrate symptoms of bipolar disorder, anxiety, and schizophrenia. During debriefing, students critiqued their performances, identifying strengths and weaknesses. The advantage to nursing students was the ability to improve their interviewing skills in a safe educational environment before encountering these patients in a clinical experience. Both faculty and student evaluations of this experience support its integration into psychiatric undergraduate courses.</jats:p>

Simulation in Undergraduate Mental Health Nursing Education: A Literature Review

“…SPs are often used in simulation experiences to replicate a high fidelity of realism exposing students to real-life clinical scenarios and teaching skills in decision-making, problem solving, and communication in a safe and nonthreatening learning environment (Becker, Rose, Berg, Park, & Shatzer, 2006;Robinson e Smith, Bradley, & Meakim, 2009;Webster, 2013;Kameg et al, 2014). Feelings of anxiety are often reported among nursing students entering their mental health clinical rotation (Robinson e Smith et al, 2009;Lehr & Kaplan, 2013;Doolen et al, 2014;Kameg et al, 2014). SPs have been used to decrease anxiety and promote selfconfidence among students in preparation for actual encounters with patients who are mentally ill. Doolen et al (2014) evaluated the effectiveness of SPs in a mental health simulation prepared for undergraduate nursing students and found these experiences helpful in developing interviewing and therapeutic communication skills, increasing confidence, and decreasing anxiety.…”

“…Feelings of anxiety are often reported among nursing students entering their mental health clinical rotation (Robinson e Smith et al, 2009;Lehr & Kaplan, 2013;Doolen et al, 2014;Kameg et al, 2014). SPs have been used to decrease anxiety and promote selfconfidence among students in preparation for actual encounters with patients who are mentally ill. Doolen et al (2014) evaluated the effectiveness of SPs in a mental health simulation prepared for undergraduate nursing students and found these experiences helpful in developing interviewing and therapeutic communication skills, increasing confidence, and decreasing anxiety. According to subjective report students stated ''I now feel able to carry out an interview more effectively,'' ''Simulation was successful and eye-opening .…”

Como o estudante de enfermagem percebe a comunicação com o paciente em saúde mental

“…Through the interview and therapeutic communication skills, their confidence increased and, at the same time, their anxiety level dropped. (6) In mental health teaching, the sense sight should be highlighted, as it is the matrix that attributes a special meaning to the content of the immediate perception and that affects communication. Touching by sight is a form of communication, through spontaneity, expressiveness and affection.…”

“…(5) The specialty requires a corpus of knowledge that guides, regulates and directs their practice, (11) and the proposed research experience promoted thinking and feeling with one's own body and the bodily senses. The socio-communicative device served as a source of learning and development (6) of the intellectual, psycho-affective and interactive skills.…”

“…Based on the dialogue, they were stimulated to develop their reflexive skills before starting the practical supervised curricular training activities with these clients and group dialogue can improve the interactive skills and enhance safety before meeting these patients in a clinical experience. (6) The knowledge incorporated during their training about therapeu-tic communication is an important content group in mental health nursing. (11) Work pressure, limited communication skills and restricted time for care were also indicated as weaknesses in the mental health nursing team's care.…”