Navigating the Faculty-Student Relationship: Interacting With Nursing Students With Mental Health Issues

Area of Science:

• Higher education
• Nursing education
• Mental health

Background:

• Increasing prevalence of mental health issues (MHI) among higher education students.
• Significant impact of student MHI on faculty-student relationships.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the social psychological processes involved when nursing faculty interact with students experiencing MHI.
• To understand the faculty perspective in managing student mental health challenges.

Main Methods:

• Grounded theory methodology was employed.
• Interviews were conducted with thirteen nursing faculty members.
• Data analysis involved line-by-line coding and constant comparative analysis.

Main Results:

• A substantive theory of navigating the faculty-student relationship in the context of student MHI was developed.
• The theory outlines an iterative, four-phase process: noticing, responding, experiencing, and reflecting.
• Identified key stages in faculty's psychosocial journey when addressing student MHI.

Conclusions:

• The developed theory offers a framework for comprehending faculty recognition and management of student MHI.
• This framework can inform the creation of interventions and best practice guidelines for nursing education.
• Enhances understanding of faculty roles in supporting student mental well-being.