Nursing Education Perspectives Spotlights Nation’s Mental Health Crisis in Special Themed Edition on Mental Health in Nursing Education

Nursing Education Perspectives Spotlights Nation’s Mental Health Crisis in Special Themed Edition on Mental Health in Nursing Education

Plus 6th Annual “Best of NEP” Awards during NLN Education Summit

Washington, DC — Against the backdrop of what public health officials are calling a widespread mental health crisis, it is vital for nurses, as frontline caregivers, to safeguard their own emotional health and resilience. That process, as leaders in nursing education agree, must begin with a supportive nursing education environment.

In classroom and clinical preparation, students and faculty alike learn strategies to respect one another’s needs, embrace differences, and cultivate a culture of caring. Done with intention, these methodologies will undoubtedly translate into positive workplace practices for nursing school graduates, help stave off nurse burnout born of stress, and improve nurse recruitment and retention by overstretched and understaffed health care facilities.

Reflecting the urgency of promoting mental health within nursing education, Nursing Education Perspectives, the respected peer-reviewed scholarly journal published by the National League for Nursing, has devoted the September/October edition to a thorough examination of the current state of mental health in nursing education and how academic and health care institutions can transform to prioritize and support the emotional health and wellbeing of faculty and students. 

“Unquestionably, nursing education must lead the way to arm graduates to deliver outstanding care to a diverse patient population beset by a national mental health crisis,” said NLN President and CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN.

In addition, throughout this issue, Nursing Education Perspectives explores different facets of today’s mental health challenges from the perspective of nursing workforce preparation and transition to practice. The content includes reports of evidence-based practical interventions as well as analyses of the theoretical underpinnings of how to address mental health in nursing education and divergent approaches to psychiatric nursing care delivery. 

“Whether engaged in the delivery of mental health services, on the frontlines of acute care, or helping patients and families manage debilitating chronic illness, nurses have to be in strong physical and emotional condition to bring patients their best every day,” said NLN Chair Patricia Sharpnack, DNP, RN, CNE, NEA-BC, ANEF, FAAN, Dean and Strawbridge Professor at the Breen School of Nursing and Health Professions at Ursuline College in Ohio.

In her introductory message to the themed edition, Dr. Sharpnack elaborated:

As educators, we must promote effective mechanisms that support mental well-being and psychological safety among nurses and nursing students in all roles. Integrating strategies to support students' mental health, promote self-care, and build resilience has the potential to enhance a student's ability to manage current stress, improve academic and clinical success, and strengthen the capacity to address future stressors in the workplace…This issue, replete with research that explores mental health issues in nursing education and strategies to mitigate this stress, will help guide all of us in creating an environment that supports the learner, the educator, and long-term, our practice.

In their guest editorial, Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and a Sixpence in Your Shoe, Drs. Jeffrey S. Jones and Audrey M. Beauvais wrote:

We now have several generations of nurses, Millennials and Gen Zs, who came through a pandemic and whose education and ways of communicating and connecting with other humans are very different [from previous generations]. Some nursing programs have significant portions of their curricula online, with reduced access to a live instructor. Some classrooms are virtual, and many clinical rotations contain simulation as components. Comfortable means of communication for upcoming generations of nurses are digital, electronic, and even interface with artificial intelligence. Patient care is seen through the lens of the electronic medical record and the navigation of algorithms and decision trees.

The September-October 2024 issue will be posted on the journal’s website at NEPonline.net, open access, in time for presentation and dialogue to be held during the 2024 NLN Education Summit, September 18-20 in San Antonio, Texas.

“Best of NEP” Awarded at NLN Education Summit

The “Best of NEP” Awards will again be a highlight of the NLN Education Summit. Those interested in learning more about the process of scholarly writing may connect with Nursing Education Perspectives editors at the Summit, who will be happy to answer questions about the steps involved, from conception through writing, peer review, and publication.