Student nurse perceptions of experiential learning to understand personality disorder

People with personality disorder diagnoses have been described as a challenging group to work with, and this has led to negative perceptions and stigmatisation of the clinical label. A hypothesis that these negative perceptions are rooted in a lack of empathy, directly related to a lack of understanding of the lived experience of these conditions, led to the development of a teaching session using experiential learning. The session used simulation to allow students to adopt the role of a person diagnosed with a personality disorder and interact in a facilitated scenario. A qualitative and phenomenological design saw the perceptions of four student nurses captured through a focus group and interview. Students described the teaching session as beneficial in having improved their empathy and increased their understanding of the experience of people living with personality disorder diagnoses, allowing them the understanding to be able to challenge stigma, giving them a desire to role model good practice to others and increasing their confidence in working with people with personality disorder diagnoses. This has clear implications for practice through increasing understanding and reducing the potential for negative perceptions, thus potentially improving the experience of mental health care for people with personality disorders.