Educators: Are you adequately supporting nursing students during mental health placements?

Abstract

Students need support to adjust to mental health placements. Inability to adjust may hinder learning, resulting in negative experiences that may influence mental health as a career choice. A gap in literature exists on approaches used by educators to support students during mental health placements.This article aims to explore effective student support by the educators during clinical placements of students in mental health.A qualitative design was used. Ethical approval was obtained and permission from stakeholders was received. Educators from higher educational institutions were purposively and conveniently sampled. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with ten participants until data saturation. Data was thematically analysed.Participants identified mental health training as context specific and highlighted the educators’ role during knowledge and skills development. Participants generated student support by preparing students for placements, facilitating adjustment, identifying barriers to support and student referrals.Recommendations for nursing education include training for educators in the provision of structured student support and the development of a support model with regulatory and nurturing components to be applied by educators during placements in mental health. Keywords: Educators, Mental health, Students, Support