The Teaching of Psychological Theory in the Undergraduate Pre-Registration Nurse Training Curriculum: Systematic, Integrative Literature Review

Abstract

Aims and objectives. To establish how best to integrate psychology education into the pre-registration nurse training curriculum to enhance clinical practice. Background. Educational psychology focuses on applications of science to understand and improve how students learn and how they are taught. A key challenge for academics is integrating psychological theory within teaching sessions and clinical practice. Didactic teaching methods have had limited success as students do not see the direct relevance of psychological theory for clinical practice. Problem-based learning and simulation sessions may enhance the perceived importance for clinical practice. Design. Systematic, integrative literature review. Methods. A systematic search of the literature using multiple databases and search engines between the years 2010-2020 was undertaken using keywords and PICO algorithm. For this study, the following keywords were utilised; student nurse, pre-registration, education, problem-based learning, practice skills, simulation, psychology and learning theory. PICO identifiers were (Participants) pre-registration students, (Intervention) – psychology and psychological learning theory, (Comparison) – didactic taught sessions with problem-based and simulation, (Outcome) - improvement in theory or practice-based assessment. Results. Eleven studies were included. Evidence for traditional didactic teaching is limited. There is evidence that problem and simulation-based learning has shown success in demonstrating clinical practice implications. Conclusions. The findings reveal that psychology education is considered a central aspect of nurse training. Observational research is required to understand better the link between psychological knowledge and clinical practice. Relevance to clinical practice. There should be a strategic focus on the development and implementation of a coherent psychological theory in the pre-registration nurse training curriculum. Coherent and applied psychology curricula may have clear benefits for nurse education and clinical practice.