Challenges & Successes:
Petra Duncan and Pamela Rock, Standardized Patient Program, University of Alberta
Collaborative Approach to Developing Mental Health Cases with Faculty of Nursing • Collaboration is work. • Collaboration works. • Work for collaboration.
Background: In 2007, the faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta asked the Standardized Patient Program (SPP) to provide third year nursing students with an introduction to the types of clients one may experience in a Community Mental Health Practicum. Objective: The emphasis was on developing a collaborative relationship with the faculty of Nursing. Significant effort was put into shared understandings of the needs of the instructors, students, SPs and trainers.
SPP gained general knowledge of this specialty nursing field in order to successfully train SPs. This was achieved by reviewing scripts with mental health nursing experts and watching DVDs on mental health nursing provided by members of the nursing program. In this way, we translated scripts into language that SPs could understand. Research into each topic uncovered the character strengths and weaknesses. It was important to recruit SPs who were capable of playing deep and complicated roles and also to check their background information to make sure there were no personal conflicts or issues. Training consisted of thorough discussion of the script, watching a mental health DVD and then dryrunning the scenario with nursing instructors. The trainer asked how the SP felt about the role and the conditions they were put under. The SPs describe their characters and helped create the background to make the script come alive.
RESULTS
Method: Faculty of Nursing specialists and instructors collaborated with SPP trainers to present four mental health areas with scripts developed from real-life episodes: 1. borderline in crisis 2. schizophrenia 3. depression 4. bullying
Challenges
Successes
• Understanding the role nursing plays in mental health • Development of complex mental health SP roles • Traditional script templates don't work • SP selection, preparation and training • Developing and training SPs to understand mental health • Translating clinical mental health conditions into easily understood language • Collaboratively updating and revising scripts on a regular basis • Interview time longer than in other programs
• Great working relationship with nursing instructors • Gratitude shown by nursing students postencounter • Demand to run additional labs for 4th year nursing students to capitalize on the experience • Ability to work with nursing throughout the development of the cases • Opened new opportunities to work with other nursing instructors • Students practice in a safe environment and SPs assist with feedback • SPs (not mannequins) make situations real • Use of "time outs" adds to education value
What is different about this training? The whole preparation, in-depth planning and degree of understanding (not the technique). Revisions resulted from SPP and nursing collaboration including feedback from instructors, SPs and students. Each script was reviewed line by line. The 4 original SPs trained new recruits and explained the mental process behind the actions. Key Findings: • Students feel better prepared and more confident when moving out into the work place • Enhanced depth of understanding of medical conditions • Students better understand the interview process, how to communicate and give empathy when required • Collaborative approach provided a good quality, realistic and educational program
www.hserc.ualberta.ca
What's Next: • Expand program to include other mental health scenarios • Increase the amount of time for the interview • Make the course into a 2-day workshop • Evolve into an interprofessional educational experience Acknowledgments: How Lee, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta Marnie MacKay, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta Bill Leddy, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta
Health Sciences Education and Research Commons