Mental Health Nursing Student's Perception of Clinical Simulation about Patients at Risk of Suicide: A Qualitative Study

Suicide is a serious public health problem, with a global mortality rate of 1.4% of all deaths worldwide and the leading cause of unnatural death in Spain. Clinical simulation has proven to be a beneficial tool in training nursing students. Such experiences allow them to develop cognitive and affective skills that are fundamental for the detection of warning signs and the use of interventions in cases of people who want to take their own lives. Working in a mental health environment can be difficult for nursing students; therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of nursing students on the approach, management, and intervention of suicidal crisis through clinical mental health simulation. Methods: qualitative descriptive phenomenological study through focus groups and reflective narratives in a sample of 45 students. A thematic analysis was performed using ATLAS-ti. Results: After the analysis, three themes were obtained: (a) management and handling of emotions, (b) identification of suicide motives, and (c) intervention in suicidal crisis. Discussion: Clinical simulation in mental health allows students to exercise clinical judgment reasoning, detect warning signs for a better treatment approach, and provide tools for effective intervention and management of patient care. The results of this study indicate that nursing students face challenges in approaching mental health clinical simulation due to a lack of prior exposure.