Practicing What We Preach: Teaching Psychiatric-Mental Health Student Nurses to Care For Themselves

Promoting Academic Success in Nursing Education Through Academic Coaching: A Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

Academic support services can improve undergraduate and graduate nursing program outcomes such as program completion and passing the NCLEX. Academic success coaching complements traditional support strategies by providing study skills and time management tools, promoting goal setting and self-efficacy, and referring students to support resources. This review examined interventions that academic success coaches use to improve student success and retention, licensing examination pass rates, and academic success.

METHOD

A scoping literature review identified types of interventions that resulted in significant improvement in student academic and holistic success.

RESULTS

Four classes of interventions were identified as effective in supporting student success: (1) academic support; (2) social and emotional support; (3) clinical guidance; and (4) course and program design.

CONCLUSION

Academic coaches are educated to identify student needs, provide support, and refer students to resources to improve academic outcomes. Future research should evaluate the need for academic success coaches to promote academic nursing student success. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(8):515-524.].

Evaluating the Impact of Self-Care Strategies Incorporated in Undergraduate and Graduate Nursing Curricula: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Evidence demonstrates professional nurses' vital need for self-care, underscoring the necessity to support the integration of self-care behaviors in nursing education.

PURPOSE

The aim was to synthesize the impact of self-care strategies in nursing curricula to evaluate students' experiential, evidence-based outcomes.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted to examine interventional self-care studies in undergraduate and graduate nursing curricula published in the English language from 2018 to 2023. Searches were conducted between June 1, 2023, and July 12, 2023, in MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ProQuest, and PubMed following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, yielding 20 peer-reviewed articles. Studies were evaluated for quality utilizing Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument scoring; each author examined results independently to ensure rigor and mitigate bias.

RESULTS

Notable increases were observed regarding students' recognition of self-care needs across a variety of curricular methodologies and self-care strategies.

CONCLUSIONS

Evidence is mounting to substantiate curricular integration of self-care strategies in nursing education; further research of a robust nature is needed to refine curricular approaches.

Defining young people's mental health self-care: a systematic review and co-development approach

Self-care is among the emerging types of mental health support which operate outside traditional services, although the meaning and practice of self-care for young people with mental health difficulties are currently unclear. This systematic review was pre-registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021282510) and investigated conceptualizations of self-care in academic publications which investigated or discussed self-care for young people's mental health or wellbeing. A Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) workshop facilitated young people with experience of mental health difficulties to respond to the identified concepts and co-develop a definition of self-care. Searches in PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL Plus, Scopus, Cochrane Library of Systematic Reviews, and gray literature sources resulted in 90 included publications. Content analysis indicated little conceptual consistency, with health and wellness promotion most commonly used to define self-care. The PPI workshop co-developed a definition of mental health self-care, which attendees felt should emphasize an individual process of self-awareness, self-compassion, and specific strategies to work toward emotional balance. This study highlights the gap between current academic understandings of young people's mental health self-care and young people's experience. The presented definition will enable future research to begin from an understanding of self-care which is relevant to young people with experience of mental health difficulties.

Female Sex and Living in a Large City Moderate the Relationships between Nursing Students' Stress Level, Perception of Their Studies, and Intention to Practice Professionally: A Cross-Sectional Study

One way to increase nursing retention is to expand the number of nursing education programs; however, a more cost-effective initial step would be to ensure that each graduate will start a professional career. Nursing studies expose students to prolonged and uncontrolled stress that negatively affects their professional identity and health. Two hundred and fifty-four nursing students participated in this study. The data were obtained using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), a proprietary questionnaire on the students’ perception of their study, intention to practice in the future, and other metrics. Among our sample, a dozen students were unsure that they would enter the nursing profession. Stress levels in women were higher than in men. Respondents indicated that they were afraid of the return of the pandemic. This analysis was significant among people living in large cities. Based on our findings, five themes should be prioritised: favourable study environment and adequate competencies (including implementation of stress management techniques, especially among women and students living and studying in large cities), appropriate working hours, quality of practical classes, and quality of personal protective equipment.

Clinical instruction in mental health nursing: students' perceptions of best practices

OBJECTIVES

Negative clinical educational experiences for student nurses are predictors of negative attitudes and perceptions towards mental health. In clinical education, instructors take on this important role often with little to no formal training. This study explored nursing students' perceptions of instructional best practices in mental health clinical education.

METHODS

A qualitative descriptive design was used, and 10 Canadian baccalaureate nursing (BN) students were interviewed. These students had completed a six-week practicum on an acute inpatient psychiatric unit in either their second, third or fourth year of study.

RESULTS

Through thematic analysis, three themes were identified: (1) Students valued feeling prepared at the beginning of the clinical placement. (2) Students felt empowered when instructors encouraged self-direction. (3) Students appreciated positive role modeling by their instructors.

CONCLUSIONS

Suggestions for clinical teaching strategies are made to mitigate student stress, increase confidence, and address the influence of mental health stigma on learning.

Implementing Trauma-Informed Education Practices in Undergraduate Mental Health Nursing Education

BACKGROUND

Nursing students may have risk factors for trauma reactivation through learning activities conducted as part of their education and training. Trauma-informed education practices (TIEP) could help reduce this risk.

METHOD

Course policies, content, procedures, and support structures consistent with the tenets of TIEP were implemented in undergraduate mental health courses with traditional third-year nursing students at two universities.

RESULTS

Students responded positively to the implementation of TIEP. Most (92%) qualitative feedback students provided in formal evaluations was directly related to at least one principle of TIEP, most commonly "promoting social, emotional, and academic safety." Some students (39.3%) interpreted TIEP as demonstrations of "genuine" caring for the students as individuals and their own mental health.

CONCLUSION

Integrating TIEP into an undergraduate nursing mental health course is feasible and beneficial and allows faculty to role model skills and values central to nursing practice. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(12):707-711.].

Transition in learning during COVID-19: Student nurse anxiety, stress, and resource support

The purpose of this study was to explore anxiety and stress experienced by first‐semester nursing students and identify sources of support during a transition from a face‐to‐face to an online learning platform during the first months of the COVID‐19 pandemic. This descriptive study used a web‐based survey distributed to nursing students 2 months after the completion of their first semester. The survey questions were adapted from the Anxiety Symptoms Checklist and the College Student Stress Scale. The survey link was emailed to 79 students, with 56 consenting, and 50 completing the survey. The most commonly reported symptoms were difficulty concentrating (90%) and feeling anxious or overwhelmed (84%). Most respondents reported anxiety related to the pandemic, with 84% being concerned about a friend or relative contracting COVID‐19, and with 70% fearful of becoming infected themselves. The majority of respondents expressed concerns related to difficulty handling academic workload (62%), and the need to perform well in school (56%). To decrease anxiety and stress, the faculty should foster a structured learning environment; abide by the course schedule; communicate changes or updates in a timely fashion; adapt assignments to fit the learning environment; utilize campus, local, state, and national resources; practice self‐care; and extend grace.