Effects of a Standardized Patient Simulation Program for Nursing Students on Nursing Competence, Communication Skill, Self-efficacy and Critical Thinking Ability for Blood Transfusion*

A simulation-based nursing education of psychological first aid for adolescents exposed to hazardous chemical disasters

BACKGROUND

Simulation-based education facilitates a learner-centered experience, which has been found to be effective in improving clinical performance, problem-solving ability, and self-confidence in nursing practice. The objective of this study was to develop and test a psychological first aid simulation-based education program for nurses caring for adolescents exposed to hazardous chemical disasters.

METHODS

This study employed a nonequivalent pre and post-control group research design. The simulation-based education program was developed, and the participants were 30 nurses working in a medical center who were randomly assigned to the experimental, comparison, and control groups. The collected data were statistically analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Ver. 22.0.

RESULTS

The nurses who participated in the simulation-based education program showed statistically significantly improved psychological first aid performance knowledge, competence, and self-efficacy compared to those in the other groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Nursing simulation programs could help to improve nurses' performance in mental health care and psychological support for adolescents suffering from hazardous chemical disasters.

Effects of a psychological first aid simulated training for pregnant flood victims on disaster relief worker's knowledge, competence, and self-efficacy

AIMS

To develop a simulation-based psychological first aid (PFA) education program for disaster relief workers and verify its impact on their PFA knowledge, PFA performance competence, and self-efficacy.

BACKGROUND

Relief workers should be provided with systematic education on their required knowledge and skills; however, PFA training for relief workers is lacking, which results in ineffective mental health support during disaster situations.

METHODS

This study adopted a non-equivalent control group pre-posttest quasi-experimental design. Thirty relief workers from mental health welfare centers in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province participated. The experimental group received a PFA lecture, a simulation-based PFA education program, and access to the Psychological Life Support (PLS) mobile application, which provides information on disaster situations and PFA techniques. The comparison group received a PFA lecture. The control group was provided with self-learning PFA materials.

RESULTS

Among the three groups, the experimental group showed the greatest improvement in PFA knowledge, PFA performance competence, and self-efficacy from pretest to posttest, which was statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated the effectiveness of the simulation-based PFA education program combined with a PFA lecture and the PLS mobile app as complementary methods to assist relief workers in applying PFA in disaster situations.

The Effect of a Simulated Fire Disaster Psychological First Aid Training Program on the Self-efficacy, Competence, and Knowledge of Mental Health Practitioners

OBJECTIVE

This study developed a simulation program using standardized patients for the training of mental health practitioners in psychological first aid and evaluated its effect on learners' self-efficacy and psychological first aid performance competence and knowledge. The simulation used in this program was of a fire disaster.

METHODS

Thirty participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group, a comparison group, and a control group. The experimental group participated in simulation training after attending a two-hour psychological first aid lecture. The comparison group was given only the two-hour lecture and the control group was given a psychological first aid handout to study individually. The results of pre- and post-intervention questionnaires were then statistically analyzed.

RESULTS

The participants' self-efficacy, performance competency, and knowledge improved in all groups, and there were some statistically significant differences between the three groups. The experimental group showed a greater improvement in self-efficacy and performance than the other groups.

CONCLUSIONS

The psychological first aid simulation training program was effective in improving three qualities of mental health practitioners: self-efficacy, performance competency, and knowledge. Further research is required for the development of various learning scenarios for iterative psychological first aid education.

Experience of nursing students with standardized patients in simulation-based learning: Q-methodology study

BACKGROUND

Standardized patients (SPs) boost self-confidence, improve problem solving, enhance critical thinking, and advance clinical judgment of nursing students.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine nursing students' experience with SPs in simulation-based learning.

DESIGN

Q-methodology was used.

SETTING

Department of nursing in Seoul, South Korea.

PARTICIPANTS

Fourth-year undergraduate nursing students (n = 47).

METHODS

A total of 47 fourth-year undergraduate nursing students ranked 42 Q statements about experiences with SPs into a normal distribution grid.

RESULTS

The following three viewpoints were obtained: 1) SPs are helpful for patient care (patient-centered view), 2) SPs roles are important for nursing student learning (SPs roles-centered view), and 3) SPs can promote competency of nursing students (student-centered view).

CONCLUSION

These results indicate that SPs may improve nursing students' confidence and nursing competency. Professors should reflect these three viewpoints in simulation-based learning to effectively engage SPs.