Designing a Women’s Refuge: An Interdisciplinary Health, Architecture and Landscape Collaboration

University programs are currently faced with a number of challenges: how to engage students as active learners, how to ensure graduates are ‘work ready’ with broad and relevant professional skills, and how to support students to see their potential as agents of social change and contributors to social good. This paper presents the findings from a study that explored the impact of an authentic, interdisciplinary project with health, architecture and landscape students. This project facilitated students’ entrée into the lived experience of women and children requiring refuge services as a result of homelessness and/or domestic violence. Students collaborated with stakeholders from the refuge sector, visiting sites, undertaking individual research, exchanging ideas and problem-solving, to develop a design guide for a women’s refuge. Focus groups were conducted at the conclusion of the activity to gauge students’ perceptions of the value of the activity. Results indicated that the ‘hands-on’ and collaborative nature of the learning experience in a real-world context was valued, primarily due to its direct relevance to professional practice. Architecture and landscape participants reported an increase in their understanding and knowledge of refuge clients, and many expressed a commitment to further learning and contribution to the sector. Nursing students felt that the authentic learning experience helped prepare them for the ‘real world’ of practice and that it aided the development of their professional identities and capacity to effect real-world change. The learning activity had a positive impact on knowledge acquisition and students’ confidence to act as agents of social change

Scaffolded Simulation in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Education

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of using scaffolded clinical simulations on nursing students’ confidence in clinical reasoning, clinical judgment, and critical thinking skills. Next, we also attempted to gain insights into students’ perceptions of the benefits of scaffolded clinical simulations. Method: We used a mixed-methods research design to investigate the impacts of using scaffolded clinical simulations on 133 second-semester baccalaureate nursing students’ confidence in clinical reasoning, clinical judgment, and critical thinking skills. Results: Findings from this study indicate that students who perceived the benefits of scaffolded simulation activities (i.e., peer observations, debriefings, and self-reflections) were more likely to engage in this deep learning process, which in turn led to their higher confidence in clinical reasoning, clinical judgment, and critical thinking skills. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that scaffolded simulations in psychiatric clinical settings, coupled with the novice to expert model in nursing education, are a valuable tool for preparing nursing students for the rigors of clinical practice, despite decreased in-person client experiences in nursing programs. Implications: This study has implications for designing and implementing scaffolded clinical simulations that foster clinical judgment and help students perform tasks with which they are already familiar, while new responsibilities are introduced throughout the semester