Piloting a brief psychoeducational intervention to reduce the impact of social anxiety on mental health simulations for nursing students

Background
Simulation-based learning can trigger disabling social anxiety in mental health simulations where interpersonal skills are observed and critiqued by others, yet an effective cognitive behavioural intervention has been developed to address social anxiety.

Methods
In this uncontrolled observational multi-methods cohort study, 56 third-year undergraduate Mental Health Nursing students completed anonymous online measures of social anxiety after a first mental health simulation. A session of psychoeducation and skills practice based on the principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for social anxiety (Clark and Wells, 1997) was then delivered for all students. The following week a second mental health simulation took place, and post-simulation ratings were repeated.

Results
Students rated less social anxiety (pre-post Effect Size 0.3); less impact on their attention (pre-post E.S. 1.0) and less challenge to their learning/ performance (pre-post E.S. 0.9) during the second, post-psychoeducation simulation. Students expressed a preference for smaller groups and more unobserved practise due to feeling alienated by cameras.

Conclusions
Brief psychoeducation on social anxiety appears efficacious in reducing its negative impact on student performance and learning during simulation. Such training could be easily incorporated into simulation-based healthcare education programmes.