ROLE PLAYING IN NURSING EDUCATION IN THE PSYCHIATRIC FIELD

Abstract

In teaching the art of nursing care of the mentally and emotionally ill, one attempts to help the student to change or modify her patterns of behavior, if necessary, so that her interactions with the patient in the ward milieu, as she ( or he) tends, comforts and supports the patient, helping him to acquire new patterns of interaction, will be of a therapeutic nature. The nurse spends long periods of time with her patient. She has a golden opportunity of helping him toward positive relationships, such as he may never have experienced before. In all of this the nurse allows the patient to express his emotions, but tries to help him to avoid behavior which would increase further anxiety. The good nurse explains nursing procedures, observing the patient's behavior and trying to determine why he behaves as he does, while keeping her judgmental attitudes at a minimum. She interacts with other patients and staff in such a way as to make for feelings of security within her patients. All of this calls for an increasing depth of understanding of human behavior within herself as well as within her patient.