Learning about mental health nursing: Linking threshold concepts to practice

Abstract

Objectives/purpose: : To examine how a story involving threshold concepts can be used as stimulus material for student nurses involved in mental health care. Methods: Case study research conducted in Australia collected 100 stories told by nurses working in mental health settings which were written down and then analysed to determine their clinical and educational purpose. This paper focuses on one of these stories because its complexities offer an introduction to the role of the therapeutic relationship in mental health nursing care. Results: This single story provides many insights into the role of the clinical mental health nurse and when used as stimulus material for nursing students combined with a framework for enquiry it also an example of how a story may be used to illuminate a threshold concept such as the therapeutic relationship. Conclusions: When choosing learning materials, it is important to i) identify an actual situation that the student might encounter, then ii) identify the knowledge, skills and behaviours that are required by the practitioner in this situation before iii) outlining the appropriate level of objective expected for students investigating this situation to achieve and then iv) listing the threshold concepts from the various disciplines that will be developed from exploring this situation.

Application of the Threshold Concept Framework in Nursing

“…McAllister et al 28 described the use of guided engagement with specific literature (ie, The English Patient) as a vehicle for learning threshold concepts such as person-centeredness, cultural sensitivity, and stigma related to mental health. Treloar et al 29 presented a case study from clinical practice to stimulate learning the threshold concept of therapeutic relationship, whereas Aronsson 30 used a student-led TweetChat to help undergraduate nursing students understand the concept of sustainability.…”

Conceptualising Recovery in Mental Health Nursing: A Word, A Journey or A Philosophy of Nursing Care?

“…Problem-Based Learning (PBL) provides practice in realistic clinical scenarios which students are likely to encounter during clinical practice (Happell, 2009). Authentic stories from clinical practice may be used in the same way (Treloar et al, 2018). More personal and professional exposure to people with mental illness produces subjectively more positive attitudes in nursing students, with personal exposure being a stronger influencing factor (Hawthorne et al, 2020).…”

Appropriation and application of caring science theory: Experiences of master education alumni in three Nordic countries

“…Theoretical foundations are essential for preparing students for nursing practice [1], and thus, theories in nursing and caring science are invaluable because they conceptualise the care given in practice [2][3][4]. According to Treloar et al [5], a theoretical framework enriches practice by providing explanations, predictions and clarity and direction to education, practice and research. True caring is not possible without that foundation [4].…”