Technology-Enhanced Learning in Psychiatric Nursing: E-Learning and Virtual Simulations

Technology-enhanced learning (TEL) has emerged as a transformative approach in psychiatric nursing education, integrating e-learning platforms and virtual simulations to improve both theoretical knowledge and clinical competence. This article explores the implementation, benefits, and challenges of TEL in preparing nursing students for complex mental health care scenarios. E-learning provides flexible, accessible, and interactive modules that enable learners to acquire essential psychiatric concepts at their own pace, while virtual simulations immerse students in realistic clinical scenarios, enhancing critical thinking, decision-making, and patient-centered care skills. Through a qualitative review of recent literature, six key areas of TEL integration are highlighted: improving clinical reasoning, fostering empathy and communication skills, supporting competency assessment, promoting engagement, facilitating collaborative learning, and enabling reflective practice. Despite these benefits, challenges such as technological barriers, faculty training needs, high implementation costs, and variability in simulation fidelity are identified. The article also discusses strategies to overcome these challenges and emphasizes the importance of evidence-based design in simulation and e-learning curricula. Looking forward, TEL in psychiatric nursing offers opportunities for personalized learning experiences, scalable education solutions, and innovative approaches to competency assessment. By effectively integrating e-learning and virtual simulations, nursing educators can enhance student preparedness for real-world psychiatric practice, ultimately improving patient care quality and safety. This review provides practical insights for educators, administrators, and policymakers seeking to optimize technology-based learning in psychiatric nursing programs.

کلیدواژه ها:

Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) ، Psychiatric Nursing Education ، Virtual Simulation ، E-Learning ، Clinical Competency