How to prepare nursing students for mental health clinical engagement: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Since clinical experience is challenging, identifying the factors influencing the learning process and acquiring clinical competence in mental departments is essential. Limited studies have investigated students’ concerns regarding attending this clinical setting and how they are mentally and academically prepared. AIM/QUESTION: Explaining the various aspects of nursing students' preparation to attend the mental clinical environment. METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted on bachelorette nursing students and college professors using in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Inductive content analysis was used for data analysis, and Lincoln and Guba’s criteria were used for the rigor of the data. RESULTS: The participants’ viewpoints regarding how to prepare nursing students to enter mental clinical settings can be summarized in 4 categories: “understanding the students’ concerns” “understanding the students’ expectations” “the necessity of the students’ mental preparation” and “preparing the scientific materials needed to attend in a mental ward”. CONCLUSION: Nursing students have fears and worries about entering mental departments and have expectations of themselves and their instructors. To help students deal with these concerns, psychological and educational preparations should be provided, among which the role of new educational technologies can be mentioned.