Simulation-based training for enhancing psychiatric nurses' knowledge and clinical competencies in communication and psychiatric history taking: a quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Simulation-based education is a highly effective method for enhancing psychiatric nurses' communication and history-taking skills, effectively bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and clinical practice in the relationally intensive field of mental health. AIM: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a simulation-based educational intervention in improving psychiatric nurses' communication and history-taking competencies through a quasi-experimental design. METHODS: A quasi-experimental pre-post intervention study was conducted among psychiatric nurses working in selected psychiatric wards. Participants underwent a structured simulation-based training program delivered over four sessions, each lasting 45-60 min. The program incorporated standardized patient scenarios, role-play, guided reflection, and debriefing, all focused on therapeutic communication and systematic psychiatric history-taking. Data were collected using a validated knowledge assessment tool, an observational communication skills checklist, and a structured case history-taking performance tool. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to evaluate pre-post differences and intervention effects. RESULTS: Participants were predominantly young to middle-aged nurses (mean age 37.4 ± 7.6 years), with balanced gender representation. Most held a bachelor's degree and had moderate clinical experience (≥5 years). Post-intervention findings revealed statistically significant improvements in nurses' knowledge, communication skills, and history-taking performance compared to baseline (p < 0.001). Large to very large effect sizes were observed across all domains, indicating clinically meaningful gains. Nurses showed marked enhancement in the use of open-ended questions, empathic responses, structured data collection, and integration of psychosocial and clinical information during both simulated and clinical encounters. CONCLUSION: Simulation-based training is an effective and impactful educational strategy for reframing psychiatric nurse-patient interactions as intentional, therapeutic processes. The intervention significantly improved psychiatric nurses' communication and history-taking competencies, supporting the integration of simulation-based learning into psychiatric nursing education and continuing professional development programs.