Effects of Situation-Based Flipped Learning and Gamification as Combined Methodologies in Psychiatric Nursing Education: A Quasi-Experimental Study

In psychiatric nursing courses, students learn about patients with mental illnesses or types of distress that may not be common in their daily lives. Consequently, some students experience difficulties interacting with patients. Therefore, new learning models that depart from the traditional one-way learning methods, engage students in clinical settings, and increase their motivation are needed. Situation-based flipped learning combined with gamification can improve nursing students’ care for patients with mental health problems. A total of 102 nursing students from a university in G Metropolitan City, Korea were randomly and equally divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in an eight-week psychiatric nursing program that included situation-based flipped learning combined with gamification. The control group participated in the traditional team-based lectures. After the program, both groups’ learning attitudes, problem-solving abilities, and empathetic responses were measured. The experimental group showed improved problem-solving (F = 4.012, p = 0.048) and empathetic abilities (t = −2.014, p = 0.047) after participating in situation-based flipped learning combined with gamification. The program was effective in helping students empathize with their patients and improve their problem-solving skills. Future curricula should be developed to incorporate flipped learning to nurture the practical competencies required for medical professionals, particularly in psychiatric nursing education.