Simulation Clinical Experience of Veteran Care Competence for Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Students with Standardized Patients.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this simulation educational activity was to assist psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner students (PMHNPs) with identifying military veterans as a vulnerable group with health care disparities and provide competent military veteran care in the private sector. Mindful of all the varied terms for military service, this article will use the term military veteran. METHODS: The simulation educational activity included applying the conceptual frameworks of the healthcare disparities framework (HDF) and nursing education simulation framework (NESF). The psychiatric nurse practitioner students participated in a mandatory clinical standardized patient (SP) simulation for veteran care competence. RESULTS: The learning was assessed in the debriefing following the student's performance in the SP simulation scenario. Anecdotally, the students reported that the activity was well received and a valuable learning experience for their practice. CONCLUSIONS: SP simulation may increase PMHNPs' quality of assessment of military veterans and treatment to decrease healthcare disparities. Additionally, the education of PMHNPs with military veteran care competence will increase the availability of health care providers in the private sector, where many military veterans are seeking care.

COVID-19 Impact on Teaching Substance Use Disorders: A Nursing Curricular Thread.

ABSTRACT: Vulnerable populations such as those with substance use disorders (SUDs) are at a higher risk for early morbidities and mortalities yet are less likely to receive primary care and other necessary psychosocial services essential for comprehensive care of these clients. This need has been magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence supports an increase in alcohol sales in 2020, and overdoses from illicit drugs have been reported to have more than doubled by May 2020 from the 2018 and 2019 baseline rates, and one reason for these increases is because of COVID-19. The healthcare system is overwhelmed with the cost of treating and addressing the impact of SUDs. Individuals with SUDs often meet providers who are not sufficiently prepared to address their complex issues that include co-occurring mental and physical health disorders. In addition to changes in practice, nursing education must change their curricular approach to meet the challenges in health services across the life span, and nursing education should include lessons being learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses must be prepared to recognize and screen individuals for SUDs at the undergraduate level as well as assess and treat individuals with SUDs at the advanced practice level in all areas of healthcare services. SUDs should not continue to be siloed and separated into the psychiatric-mental health nursing course within the nursing curriculum but should be addressed in multiple specialties across the curricula and include health responses in regard to the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on SUDs.

Communication and patient safety in simulation for mental health nursing education.

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) found that 65% of medical sentinel events or medical errors are associated with communication breakdowns. In addition to the JCAHO, The Institute of Medicine, in their Core Competencies for health care professional education, recommend improvement in professional communication, collaboration, and a patient-centered approach to provide safety. Consistency of opportunities for students to practice their communication and collaboration skills is limited based on the variety of clinical experiences that are available. Simulation would provide consistency in students' experiences. Students can practice giving a structured report, providing and receiving peer feedback, and obtaining patient feedback in a safe setting through a simulation experience. A structured hand-off shift report using a technique such as SBAR communication has been found to improve patient safety in health care environments. This paper examines the implementation of a simulation experience for students taking a Mental Health course in a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Program to support their practice of patient and professional communication, as well as, collaboration skills with a patient-centered approach using a standardized patient simulation.