Intimate Partner Violence Standardized Patient Simulation for Nurse Practitioner Students

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Public Health
• Simulation-Based Learning

Background:

• Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health issue requiring healthcare professionals to be adequately trained.
• Nursing curricula, including baccalaureate and graduate programs, should incorporate didactic and clinical experiences in IPV assessment and management.
• There is a need to prepare future nurses, such as Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (PMHNPs) and Family Nurse Practitioners (FNPs), to effectively handle IPV disclosures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a simulated intimate partner violence (IPV) scenario on the preparedness of PMHNP and FNP students.
• To enhance students' skills in responding to disclosures of IPV.
• To improve students' confidence in screening for and managing IPV.

Main Methods:

• A patient simulation scenario involving IPV was integrated into the PMHNP and FNP curriculum.
• Students interacted with a standardized patient who disclosed IPV if prompted by student inquiry.
• Pre- and posttest surveys were administered to evaluate knowledge and confidence gains, analyzed using a Related Samples Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test.

Main Results:

• Students showed increased confidence in screening for IPV after participating in the simulation.
• Confidence in responding to a disclosure of IPV significantly improved compared to pretest scores.
• The simulation effectively prepared students for real-world clinical encounters involving IPV.

Conclusions:

• Simulation-based learning is an effective method for enhancing nursing students' knowledge of IPV.
• Simulation improves understanding of IPV incidence, risk factors, and best practices in screening and management.
• This approach better equips future nurse practitioners to address IPV with survivors.