The classroom comes alive: Team-based active learning in an undergraduate psychiatric mental health nursing course

Abstract

Many undergraduate students enter psychiatric mental health nursing with anxiety, fear, and negative attitudes related to the patient population and their complex care. This issue is further complicated by the unique learning needs of an increasingly diverse group of students who require innovative, multi-modal teaching strategies. Faculty strive to provide active learning strategies to help students practice mental health nursing skills within a safe and non-threatening environment. These educational interventions can further develop self-confidence in student nurses to provide safe and therapeutic nursing care. This article discusses integrating components of flipped classroom and active, team-based learning into an undergraduate psychiatric mental health-nursing course.