Featured ArticleActing With a Purpose: The Lived Experience of Actors in the Role of Standardized Patients Portraying Mental Illness
Section snippets
Background
In our nursing program, actors have been trained as SPs and used to teach communication and assessment skills during the psychiatric/mental health nursing clinical experience. These actors have also participated in special activities in which they have interacted with the public while remaining in their roles. Backgrounds of SPs include retired nurses, actors, students who are theater and psychology majors, a former police officer, and stay-at home moms. Yearly, actors attend a 3-day training
Method
A qualitative research design explored the day-to-day experience of SPs portraying clients with mental illness in the psychiatric/mental health clinical course of senior nursing students enrolled in a baccalaureate program. The researchers chose a phenomenological method most closely aligned with the project's aim. The method by Colaizzi (1978) underscored allegiance to the participants' experience and adherence to the text (Table 1).
Emergent Themes
The following four themes emerged from participant interviews: (a) Sparks something in me, (b) Building on confidence, (c) Stepping into the shoes of the educator, and (d) Letting it get to me.
Limitations
With phenomenological research, we are able to look at the unique experience of individuals. While this study explored the lived experience of a small sample of SPs, the findings provided a glance at how this experience impacted each individual SP. Limitations of this study include the small sample size and variance in the amount of time that each actor had worked as an SP portraying an individual with mental illness. Also, having only one medical simulation laboratory precluded us from using
Discussion
The following four themes emerged from participant interviews: (a) Sparks something in me, (b) Building on confidence, (c) Stepping into the shoes of the educator, and (d) Letting it get to me.
In the theme “Sparks something in me,” participants discovered their initiation into the acting role emanated from their personal life. They described their original interest working as SPs proceeded from a long-held interest. This initial investment in their role progressed to the second theme, Building
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