Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of employing high-fidelity simulation (HFS) in enhancing mental health nursing students' practice, satisfaction, and self-confidence in contrast to a group of students undergoing traditional nursing education methods. METHODS: A quasi-experimental pre and post-test, two groups study was conducted from March to June 2024. The study conducted with 75 nursing students from Arab American University Palestine and An-Najah National University. The Educational Practices Questionnaire-Curriculum and Learner Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in learning method were used to assess nursing students' practice, satisfaction, and self-confidence. Normality of data was confirmed using Shapiro-Wilk test. Statistical t-tests were used to compare between the two groups. RESULT: The results revealed significant differences in the educational practice, satisfaction, and self-confidence scores between the experimental and control groups (p < 0.05). Specifically, the educational practice scores in the experimental group (M = 73.3 ± SD 5.62) was higher than that in the control group (M = 61.4 ± SD 6.82). Also, the mean of the student's satisfaction scores in the experimental group (M = 21.8 ± SD 2.35) was higher than that in the control group (M = 18.1 ± SD 4.84). Furthermore, the mean of the student self-confidence scores in the experimental group (M = 35.9 ± SD 3.47) was higher than that in the control group (M = 29.1 ± SD 6.69). CONCLUSION: The study supports using high-fidelity simulation alongside clinical site experiences to link nursing knowledge and practice. Consequently, mental health nursing students' benefit from advanced training that maintains their competency, theoretical knowledge, clinical judgment, collaborative functioning, leadership, and communication skills. While high-fidelity simulation enhances learning in mental health nursing education, it should be viewed as a complementary approach rather than a replacement for actual clinical placements. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.