Cambrian College in Sudbury and the Canadian Mental Health Association –Sudbury/Manitoulin (CMHA-S/M) have put their heads together to come up with new ways of teaching -- and learning -- about mental health.
The two organizations have partnered to develop teaching materials for Cambrian health sciences students that are based on the lived experiences of people with mental health concerns, said a news release from the college.
This follows a survey where students, nurses and community social agencies were asked what nurses need to know to support clients who have a mental illness.
Using that data, Cambrian, CMHA-S/M, and persons with lived experience "co-created a realistic, interactive, free-to-use mental health virtual simulation that will be available to students in Cambrian’s various Health Sciences programs and internationally, said the release.
“What we discovered is there is a gap in knowledge and confidence among students working with clients living with a mental health condition,” said Natalie Chevalier, a faculty member in Cambrian’s School of Health Sciences who also took part in the partnership.
“It became pretty clear that we needed to prioritize mental health teaching and develop an immersive and flexible teaching tool. But we’re not the experts on this topic. We needed to incorporate the unique perspective of persons with lived experience, so that’s why we formed this partnership with CMHA-S/M and its clients. We could not have done this without them," said Chevalier.
The college said the new learning materials will be incorporated into Cambrian’s Health Sciences programs, starting in the 2023/2024 academic year. The goal is to refine these teaching tools and then share them with other institutions.
Karen Henze, manager of community development and housing for the CMHA-S/M, said partnership between the education sector and the working sector was exciting.
“To have the opportunity to contribute and share what person-centered care really means, knowing that Cambrian is dedicated to enhancing the learning experience of nursing students, is something that we are very excited about,” said Henze.
“This project closely aligns with our values and vision, and we see how it will contribute to improved health care services for all.”
Cambrian College and CMHA-S/M said thank you Jane Tyerman of the University of Ottawa and Marian Lucktar-Flude of Queen’s University for their support and contributions to thr initiative. The project was made possible through a grant from the Canadian Alliance of Nurse Educators Using Simulation (CAN-Sim).
