A Mental Health Simulation Experience for Baccalaureate Student Nurses

BackgroundBaccalaureate student nurses entering their psychiatric or mental health clinical rotation are often fearful of their upcoming experience.MethodTo give students the opportunity to deal with some of these issues in a safe, nonthreatening environment, nursing faculty developed a Mental Health Simulation experience using two individual scenarios that included difficult-to-address behaviors and topics encountered in psychiatric as well as general hospital settings.ResultsA total of 54 students participated in this quality improvement educational project. Results showed overall decreases in anxiety levels and positive responses on all items in the Medical Education Technologies, Inc., Simulation Effectiveness Tool.ConclusionSimulation experiences in the psychiatric or mental health arena, both as participants and as observers, appeared to decrease students' anxiety about their upcoming clinical rotation and enhanced their clinical understanding.