Simulation: a shared learning experience for child and mental health pre-registration nursing students

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Simulation-Based Learning
• Mental Health Nursing
• Pediatric Nursing

Background:

• Pre-registration nurse education faces challenges in preparing students for complex patient needs.
• Mental health and child nurses require specialized skills to address holistic service user requirements.
• Simulation offers an innovative approach to bridge educational gaps.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a pilot simulated learning experience for pre-registration child and mental health nursing students.
• To assess the effectiveness of using young actors portraying self-harm scenarios.
• To explore student perceptions of simulation for developing skills in managing emotional distress.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study involving pre-registration child and mental health nursing students.
• Utilized young actors to simulate scenarios of self-harm and emotional distress.
• Employed focus groups and questionnaires for data collection and evaluation.

Main Results:

• Students highly valued the practical, hands-on nature of simulation.
• Shared learning across different nursing fields was identified as beneficial.
• Some students experienced performance anxiety, impacting their perceived readiness for practice.

Conclusions:

• Simulation is a potentially valuable tool for enhancing skills in child and mental health nursing students.
• The approach effectively prepares students for scenarios involving young people with emotional distress.
• Further research is needed to cautiously validate the impact of simulation on nursing skill acquisition.