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Leadership skills, including collaboration, conflict management, and advocacy, have been identified as essential competencies for professional nurses by the American Hospital Association (2016) and Quality and Safety Education for Nurses Institute (2014). However, new nurse graduates often struggle to become proficient in these skills and need time to master them. Although many nurses do not aspire to be leaders, all nurses must possess the necessary leadership skills to design, implement, and evaluate care (Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2011). It has been suggested that collaboration and advocacy must be practiced by nurses for health care reform (IOM, 2011).
Applying leadership skills can be especially challenging in mental health settings where novice nurses must quickly gain confidence in using best practices to care for individuals with complex health issues. Caring for individuals with mental illness requires a core set of skills: knowledge of various disorders; therapeutic communication; collaboration with a multidisciplinary team; proficiency as an advocate whether for individuals, families, groups, or populations; and conflict management skills. With shorter lengths of stay and restrictions on caring for patients deemed too unstable, nursing students may have fewer opportunities to master needed skills. In addition, although students may have the opportunity to work with individuals as part of their nursing education, they rarely have opportunities to work with families, groups, or populations. This lack of opportunity creates a knowledge gap as new graduates enter the work environment. Organizations are seeking nurses prepared to provide high-quality care to patients. With strong communication and leadership skills required, nurse educators are challenged to prepare students to enter the profession with a solid foundation. Nurse leaders are needed to engage in speaking up for those without a voice. Simulation using standardized patients (SPs) may help bridge this gap by providing students with opportunities to practice skills necessary to provide quality care in mental health settings.
Simulation is a recognized and widely supported teaching modality in nursing used to supplement didactic and clinical learning (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2008; Jeffries, 2012; Sideras et al., 2013). With limitations and inconsistencies in clinical placements, nurse educators must be innovative in selecting strategies that provide nursing students with the most effective evidence-based learning (Hart...