Telehealth in Psychiatric Nursing Education: Lessons From the Field

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Telepsychiatry
• Mental Health Practice

Background:

• A Midwest college of nursing integrated telepsychiatry into its post-master's nurse practitioner program.
• The focus was on utilizing telepsychiatry for psychiatric-mental health students during clinical internships.

Purpose of the Study:

• To summarize the experiences of implementing telepsychiatry in nursing education.
• To identify implications for nurse practitioner educators and future research directions.

Main Methods:

• Review of institutional policies and procedures for telepsychiatry implementation.
• Analysis of challenges faced by faculty and students.
• Evaluation of strategies, limitations, and best practices for didactic content and clinical placement structure.

Main Results:

• Identified key implications for nurse practitioner educators, clinical practice, and research.
• Telepsychiatry demonstrated a significant role in the clinical education of psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners.

Conclusions:

• Telepsychiatry is a successful clinical internship option for psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner students.
• The institution is committed to ongoing evaluation and enhancement of telepsychiatry experiences for students.