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Tomorrow's Psychiatric Nurses: Where Are We Today in Providing Students' Clinical Experiences?

Washburn University, Topeka, KS, brenda.patzel@ washburn.edu.

Patricia Ellinger

Brigham Young College of Nursing, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT

Edna Hamera

School of Nursing, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS

BACKGROUND: The increased enrollment of students, scarcity of faculty, and reduction in psychiatric beds challenge traditional ways of providing clinical psychiatric nursing experience to undergraduates. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to describe the current clinical psychiatric nursing experiences of undergraduates throughout the country. STUDY DESIGN: An online survey was dispersed to undergraduate nurse educators to describe clinical experiences in psychiatric mental health nursing. The survey included demographic questions, questions about students' clinical experiences, and open-ended questions regarding choices of and obstacles to a successful clinical experience. RESULTS: The 160 respondents reported concerns such as availability and quality of clinical sites, poor nursing role models, number of clinical hours, and lack of valuing their expertise. The results raise questions about the minimum number of hours needed to achieve competencies in psychiatric nursing, what simulations or laboratory experiences are essential, and what types of clinical settings provide needed experience. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc, 2007; 13(1), 53-60.

Key Words: undergraduate • generic • psychiatric nurse • practicum/clinical

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