Hands on!!! Infusing intimate partner violence simulation in nursing education

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has a 1 in 4 prevalence for women globally. Nursing programs are positioned to prepare students to address IPV screening and brief counselling policy recommendations within curricula. The purpose of this project was to refine the undergraduate nursing curriculum to better facilitate student comfort with and knowledge of IPV screening and intervention using simulation. Methods: We used a 4-item pre/posttest tool to evaluate nursing students’ comfort level with IPV screening and safety planning before and after an IPV simulation with a standardized patient as part of the formative assessment of the simulation. Results: Close to 80% of students (N = 133) reported feeling more comfortable with discussing IPV, screening for IPV, talking to people about IPV, and safety planning after completing the IPV simulation. Conclusion: Infusing IPV screening and intervention simulation into curricula gives students a hands-on opportunity to practice critical trauma-informed skills before encountering a patient exposed to violence. This exposure enhances student comfort with and increases knowledge of screening and intervening with families exposed to IPV and as a result may help to decrease known barriers to IPV screening and intervening post licensure.