Search

Recovery Camp is an innovative work-integrated learning (WIL) approach. Bringing together healthcare students and consumers with lived experience of mental illness, it is intentionally designed whereby each participant has a role that facilitates the educational experience. Student learning is developed through their involvement in activities, interactions with consumers and reflective practices. Consumers assume the role of educator, sharing their unique and personal experiences of mental illness with students. Recovery Camp challenges traditional healthcare WIL settings, by offering a setting that is both autonomy-supportive and provides the provision of structure. After attending Recovery Camp, students have shown themselves to be more self-determined toward working in the area of mental health, as well as displaying resilience and positive attitudes.

The first-year university experience is inherently linked to student satisfaction, retention and academic success. A sense of academic preparedness can enhance the first-year transition experience. Subjects designed to assist students to transition to university can improve the transition experience; however, there is very limited evidence of their successful implementation in Australia. An interdisciplinary credit-bearing subject underpinned by the Learning by Doing Approach and the Theory of Self-efficacy, was developed and implemented in an Australian university. Students' baseline (pre-test) and follow-up (post-test) survey responses on their self-perceived levels of knowledge and confidence in academic skills were compared to test for significant differences. Students reported greater knowledge and confidence with regards to the academic skills required for university. The subject's highly scaffolded nature ensured students actively engaged in individual and collaborative activities that allowed them to learn as they constructed knowledge. As students learnt new skills in a supportive learning environment, they incorporated these skills into their learning and utilised them in their other subjects, which increased their confidence and self-efficacy. Similar interdisciplinary credit-bearing transition subjects may be beneficial in other universities to help support students transitioning to university. Longitudinal research is required to determine the effectiveness on academic outcomes and retention.

For undergraduate nursing students, an integral mode of learning is their clinical placements. Learning within the clinical setting is influenced by factors such as the facilitators, peers, unit, or department the student is placed on. What is not known is the role of a social context that is grounded in Self‐Determination Theory and how this influences the development of therapeutic relationship skills among undergraduate nursing students. The aim of this study was to examine the role of autonomy support in the professional learning of undergraduate nursing students. This study employed a two‐group pre‐test and post‐test design, with undergraduate nursing students placed in either an autonomy‐supportive group or a comparison group in an Australian context. Therapeutic relationship skills were assessed at the beginning and end of their compulsory mental health clinical placement. Participants were 210 (n = 210) Australian undergraduate nursing students. Using a tertile split, 140 students were placed into one of two groups based on their perception of autonomy support at the post‐test time point. Pre‐ and post‐test therapeutic relationship data were collected for both groups. A repeated measures analysis of variance was used to examine whether engagement in different clinical placements would illicit significant differences in therapeutic relationship skills. Undergraduate nursing students who were engaged in the autonomy‐supportive setting had significantly higher scores associated with the therapeutic relationship subscales: Positive Collaboration and Positive Clinical Input. The importance of the social context is underscored, which is strongly influenced by the educational leader, typically referred to as a nurse facilitator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the profound role that media play in public opinion, there exists an ongoing necessity to understand the portrayal of mental illness by journalists. There is a plethora of studies that have examined how mental illness is portrayed in the media, but few studies have sought to understand what journalist opinions about mental illness are, and none could be found regarding journalism students' opinions. This study aimed to bridge this gap by examining journalism student's attitudes towards mental illness using the Social Distance Scale (SDS). This study adheres to STROBE guidelines for cross‐sectional studies. One hundred and seventy‐two undergraduate journalism students (n = 172) completed the SDS with findings suggesting that students had moderate stigmatizing attitudes, with varying degrees of stigma present depending on the social context. Positively framed reporting and constructive media coverage surrounding mental illness may be improved by shared communication and education with health professionals who specialize in mental health: mental health nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first-year university experience is inherently linked to student satisfaction, retention and academic success. A sense of academic preparedness can enhance the first-year transition experience. Subjects designed to assist students to transition to university can improve the transition experience; however, there is very limited evidence of their successful implementation in Australia. An interdisciplinary credit-bearing subject underpinned by the Learning by Doing Approach and the Theory of Self-efficacy, was developed and implemented in an Australian university. Students' baseline (pre-test) and follow-up (post-test) survey responses on their self-perceived levels of knowledge and confidence in academic skills were compared to test for significant differences. Students reported greater knowledge and confidence with regards to the academic skills required for university. The subject's highly scaffolded nature ensured students actively engaged in individual and collaborative activities that allowed them to learn as they constructed knowledge. As students learnt new skills in a supportive learning environment, they incorporated these skills into their learning and utilised them in their other subjects, which increased their confidence and self-efficacy. Similar interdisciplinary credit-bearing transition subjects may be beneficial in other universities to help support students transitioning to university. Longitudinal research is required to determine the effectiveness on academic outcomes and retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recovery Camp is an innovative work-integrated learning (WIL) approach. Bringing together healthcare students and consumers with lived experience of mental illness, it is intentionally designed whereby each participant has a role that facilitates the educational experience. Student learning is developed through their involvement in activities, interactions with consumers and reflective practices. Consumers assume the role of educator, sharing their unique and personal experiences of mental illness with students. Recovery Camp challenges traditional healthcare WIL settings, by offering a setting that is both autonomy-supportive and provides the provision of structure. After attending Recovery Camp, students have shown themselves to be more self-determined toward working in the area of mental health, as well as displaying resilience and positive attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]