Mary Chambers

What can virtual patient simulation offer mental health nursing education

This paper discusses the use of simulation in nursing education and training, including potential benefits and barriers associated with its use. In particular, it addresses the hitherto scant application of diverse simulation devices and dedicated simulation scenarios in psychiatric and mental health nursing. It goes on to describe a low-cost, narrative-based virtual patient simulation technique which has the potential for wide application within health and social care education. An example of the implementation of this technology in a web-based pilot course for acute mental health nurses is given. This particular virtual patient technique is a simulation type ideally suited to promoting essential mental health nursing skills such as critical thinking, communication and decision making. Furthermore, it is argued that it is particularly amenable to e-learning and blended learning environments, as well as being an apt tool where multilingual simulations are required. The continued development, implementation and evaluation of narrative virtual patient simulations across a variety of health and social care programmes would help ascertain their success as an educational tool.

‘What difference does it make?’ Finding evidence of the impact of mental health service user researchers on research into the experiences of detained psychiatric patients

Background  Interest in the involvement of members of the public in health services research is increasingly focussed on evaluation of the impact of involvement on the research process and the production of knowledge about health. Service user involvement in mental health research is well‐established, yet empirical studies into the impact of involvement are lacking.

Effect of contact on nursing students' attitudes to patients

Shortly before and shortly after they went on district nurse and mental handicap placements the attitudes of university nursing students to elderly people, people who are disabled and people with a mental handicap were assessed. Before the placements the students had a more favourable attitude towards elderly people and towards those who are disabled than towards those with a mental handicap. After the placements their attitudes towards those with a disability had improved. These findings are discussed with reference to the character of the placements.

Measuring the evidence: Reviewing the literature of the measurement of therapeutic engagement in acute mental health inpatient wards

Quality nursing plays a central role in the delivery of contemporary health and social care, with a positive correlation being demonstrated between patient satisfaction and the quality of nursing care received. One way to ensure such quality is to develop metrics that measure the effectiveness of various aspects of care across a variety of settings. Effective mental health nursing is predicated on understanding the lived experiences of service users in order to provide sensitively-attuned nursing care. To achieve this, mental health nurses need to establish the all-important therapeutic relationship, showing compassion and creating a dialogue whereby service users feel comfortable to share their experiences that help contextualize their distress. Indeed, service users value positive attitudes, being listened to, and being able to trust those who provide care, while mental health nurses value their ability to relate through talking, listening, and expressing empathy. However, the literature suggests that within mental health practice, a disproportionate amount of time is taken up by other activities, with little time being spent listening and talking to service users. The present study discusses the evidence relating to the therapeutic relationship in acute mental health wards and explores why, after five decades, it is not recognized as a fundamental metric of mental health nursing.

Service user involvement in mental health care : an evolutionary concept analysis

The concept of service user involvement is an evolving concept in the mental health‐care literature.

Section 136 of the Mental Health Act: a new literature review

Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (amended) provides police officers in the United Kingdom with the authority to remove individuals who appear to be suffering from a mental illness from any public place to a designated ‘place of safety’ for appropriate assessment. A considerable amount of research has been dedicated to investigate who is detained under this section and how it is implemented. A review of the literature revealed a high prevalence of schizophrenia, personality disorders and mania in individuals detained under Section 136 and an over-representation of black detainees. Several studies also reported poor communication between different agencies and poor levels of knowledge regarding the implementation of the section. There is a lack of qualitative research exploring detainee and professional experience of Section 136 and in particular the patient pathway to mental health care via Section 136 experienced by black detainees. Implications for clinical practice, multi-agency collaboration and future research are discussed.

The influence of context on role behaviors of perioperative nurses.

Using a case study approach, researchers conducted a focused exploration of the role of perioperative nurses. Data were collected in three different hospitals during 358 hours of observation and 34 hours of interviews with 35 nurses. Researchers also analyzed nursing documents, including the care plans of 230 patients. Findings show that various contextual mechanisms are influential in the role performance of perioperative nurses. This study highlights the importance of providing adequate support for perioperative nurses to perform their role in an intensely stressful environment. Patient-focused leadership and the promotion of a caring philosophy are needed to strengthen perioperative nursing and, ultimately, improve patient care.

Producing different analytical narratives, coproducing integrated analytical narrative: a qualitative study of UK detained mental health patient experience involving service user researchers

Involvement of people who use health services as researchers is increasingly widely practised internationally, but methodological enquiry into how involvement impacts on research findings is lacking. A qualitative study of the experiences of people detained under the UK Mental Health Act (1983) used secondary analysis to explore the extent to which mental health service user researchers produced different interpretive narratives to conventional university researchers working on the same research team, and the potential to coproduce integrated analytical narrative to inform service improvement. We found we were able to articulate a range of situated analytical narratives on the detained patient experience and, through negotiating what each narrative meant in relation to the others, to coproduce an integrated analytical narrative that moved beyond what was already known about the detained patient experience. We concluded that research involving mental health service user researchers can coproduce new knowledge that might usefully inform service improvement.

Usability of multimedia technology to help caregivers prepare for a crisis.

The objective of the research was to evaluate the usability of a multimedia software application that provides information on coping with difficult situations, dealing with everyday caring problems, and first aid for emergency situations. Casual users (family caregivers, professional caregivers, and older people) were invited to use the software application and complete a questionnaire measuring quality and efficiency in utility and usability. Quantitative data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis. Findings indicated the software application to have high global usability, correspond to user expectations, respond quickly, and be visually pleasant and easily understood. The authors conclude that software applications of this type have the potential to increase the quality of life of family caregivers, enhance their coping capacity, and enable them to continue for a longer period in their caring role.

Exploratory study of nursing in an operating department: preliminary findings on the role of the nurse

This study was exploratory and describes how nursing was viewed and practised by nurses who worked in an operating department. It also highlighted factors that might influence the role performance of operating department nurses. The research involved interviews with a sample of 6 nurses working in an operating department, observation of 32 hours of nursing work over 6 operating sessions, in addition to the analysis of various documents, including the nursing care plans of 22 patients. Data were triangulated and analysed by constant comparison. Findings indicated that nurses had difficulty in articulating exactly what it was that operating department nursing entailed, but rather viewed their role in terms of the functions they performed. Observations indicated that the nursing role was primarily orientated toward the physical rather than the psychological aspects of care-giving. Furthermore, it appeared that the medical profession, nursing philosophy/leadership and the characteristics of patients all influenced the manner in which nurses enacted their role. These findings suggest that further research into the role of the nurse within the operating department environment is warranted. Key factors from this study were developed into a framework suitable for guiding future study of the nursing role in this environment.