Beryl Mansel

Role play simulation in nurse education: applying the ‘I AM A STAR’ mnemonic

Role play simulation in nurse education: applying the ‘I AM A STAR’ mnemonic

Role play can improve student confidence and help to enhance their knowledge and skills

Training

‘I AM A STAR’: a mnemonic for undertaking a mental state examination

Nurse lecturers should aim to create learning experiences that link theory and practice. The Nursing and Midwifery Council suggests that educational programmes designed to prepare nurses for practice should offer a flexible, blended approach to learning, and should draw on the full range of modern learning methods and modes of delivery. Simulation is recommended as a useful teaching and learning method to help facilitate the link between theory and practice. This article’s lead author developed an easy-to-recall mnemonic ‘I AM A STAR’ to help undergraduate mental health nursing students remember the components of a fundamental observational assessment in mental health nursing, the mental state examination (MSE). This article describes an MSE teaching workshop that used the I AM A STAR mnemonic and observational simulation. The teaching workshop was innovative, creative and engaging for students, and well evaluated. The authors propose that the I AM A STAR mnemonic is a useful assessment tool for nursing students and qualified practitioners.

Leadership

Beryl Mansel: Emotional intelligence is essential to leadership

Nurse leaders who can manage their own emotions are more likely to succeed at work and boost their physical and mental well-being, a mental health studies lecturer says.