The influence of teaching method on performance of suicide assessment in baccalaureate nursing students.

Background: Student nurses identify many barriers to assessing patients' risk for suicide.
Objective: This pilot study developed and tested an innovative active learning strategy using simulated standardized patients to determine its effectiveness in teaching suicide assessment skills to a sample of 34 junior and senior baccalaureate nursing students.
Design: This study employed an experimental, two-group posttest design and three National League for Nursing/Laerdal Simulation Evaluation instruments. After reading about suicide assessment, the experimental group was exposed to a simulated standardized patient portraying a suicidal patient. The control group received a recorded lecture on suicide assessment.
Results: The experimental group demonstrated a significant difference in student scores of self-confidence, satisfaction, and student perceptions of the educational practices (active learning, collaboration, and appeal to diverse learning styles) when compared to the lecture format.
Conclusion: Suicide assessment is a critical assessment skill set that can be effectively taught to nursing students using standardized patients.
(© The Author(s) 2015.)