The Challenge of Teaching Emotive Subject Content within the Pre-registration Nursing Program-A Retrospective Review.

Abstract

Undergraduate training of student nurses at each UK higher education institution (HEI) consists of a network of modules interwoven in subjects culminating in a well validated program preparing student nurses to be both competent and confident in their care delivery (Price & McAlinden, 2018; Nursing and Midwifery Council UK, 2018). Pre-registration nursing programs are mostly designed to start with the development of the infant leading to the critically ill child with reference to developing a reasonable understanding in mental and emotional health at some point over the course delivery. The complexities of caring for children require nurses who are fully conversant with the unique needs of this client group. Yet the most emotive and sensitive issues that influence children’s emotional wellbeing remain somewhat understudied within pre-registration nursing due to the challenging nature of the subjects and emotional impact on students learning in the classroom (Mills et al., 2021). Research informs us that young people are willing to engage in understanding much more about their mental health and emotional wellbeing (Omari et al., 2019) despite stigma and discrimination in society. Yet many health-care professionals require support in having confidence in providing a non-judgmental service that is both empathetic and practical (Trainor, 2020). Discrimination remains particularly prevalent toward young people expressing themselves as transgender or non-binary, a minority group whose characteristics and needs (Gender Recognition Act, 2004) should be understood, as well as the mental health needs of Black and Asian children which are overlooked far too often within healthcare (Burton et al., 2014). Along with implementing ethnic-racial socialization (Priest et al., 2014) a deeper exploration of egregious cultural practices of female genital mutilation (Balkozar, 2020), honor-based violence and forced marriages (Gregory et al., 2020), human trafficking (Raker, 2020), or violated mothers modeling aggressive behavior toward their children (Morgan, 2020) remain too often outside the 3-year program. Embedding these emotionally challenging topics within the BSc in Children’s Nursing requires skill, planning, and sensitivity by nurse educators. For many years, performing diagnostics to confirm conditions such as type 1 diabetes or throat infection has become quicker and more accurate (Shatkin, 2015), whereas the lack of accurate testing to determine why a child is exhibiting behaviors of anger, irritability, and withdrawal in the absence of any physical illness remains complex and inexact. Nor is there an exact formula in helping children deal with loss.