Abstract
Schools of nursing are challenged with ensuring high-quality clinical experiences in psychiatric/mental health nursing for BSN students. Varied exposure to certain mental health illnesses coupled with declining numbers of accessible clinical placements has created significant challenges for providing BSN students essential clinical experiences.1 An on-campus clinical (OCC) pilot program was designed to improve student performance and self-efficacy in caring for mental health patients and their families through simulation-based clinical experiences.
The pilot alternates five 8-hour clinical experiences in an acute care setting with five 4-hour OCC simulation learning modules. Preparation for each OCC module requires pre- written and reading assignments and pre-briefing discussions. During each OCC week, student pairs engage with diagnostically distinct simulated patients, followed by structured debriefing sessions, and a written assignment.2 OCC scenarios are designed using the SMARTER approach with clearly defined expected actions and embedded "triggers".3 The pilot will be evaluated using a validated satisfaction scale and focus group discussions.
During the Fall 2016 semester, 32 nursing students are participating in this pilot. Feedback thus far is that nursing students value the opportunity to have simulated patient experiences that cannot be guaranteed in the clinical setting. Additionally, students express satisfaction with the ability to perform nursing responsibilities in the safety of a simulated environment as opposed to the largely observational experience in many mental health clinical settings. Further evaluation data will be available by the INACSL conference. The program design can be utilized by nursing educators to create programmatic solutions at their home institutions.
Sigma Membership
Non-member
Lead Author Affiliation
International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL)
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
N/A
Research Approach
N/A
Keywords:
Simulation, Psychiatric/mental Health, Undergraduate Students, Prelicensure Nursing Students, Clinical Rotations
Recommended Citation
Kappus, Liana; Rogers, Darlene; Ragaisis, Karen; and Boyd, Cory Ann, "The development of an on-campus clinical rotation in psychiatric/mental health for BSN students" (2017). General Submissions: Presenations (Oral and Poster). 109.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/gen_sub_presentations/2017/presentations/109
Conference Name
INACSL Conference 2017
Conference Host
INACSL
Conference Location
Washington, D.C., USA
Conference Year
2017
Rights Holder
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Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
The development of an on-campus clinical rotation in psychiatric/mental health for BSN students
Washington, D.C., USA
Schools of nursing are challenged with ensuring high-quality clinical experiences in psychiatric/mental health nursing for BSN students. Varied exposure to certain mental health illnesses coupled with declining numbers of accessible clinical placements has created significant challenges for providing BSN students essential clinical experiences.1 An on-campus clinical (OCC) pilot program was designed to improve student performance and self-efficacy in caring for mental health patients and their families through simulation-based clinical experiences.
The pilot alternates five 8-hour clinical experiences in an acute care setting with five 4-hour OCC simulation learning modules. Preparation for each OCC module requires pre- written and reading assignments and pre-briefing discussions. During each OCC week, student pairs engage with diagnostically distinct simulated patients, followed by structured debriefing sessions, and a written assignment.2 OCC scenarios are designed using the SMARTER approach with clearly defined expected actions and embedded "triggers".3 The pilot will be evaluated using a validated satisfaction scale and focus group discussions.
During the Fall 2016 semester, 32 nursing students are participating in this pilot. Feedback thus far is that nursing students value the opportunity to have simulated patient experiences that cannot be guaranteed in the clinical setting. Additionally, students express satisfaction with the ability to perform nursing responsibilities in the safety of a simulated environment as opposed to the largely observational experience in many mental health clinical settings. Further evaluation data will be available by the INACSL conference. The program design can be utilized by nursing educators to create programmatic solutions at their home institutions.