A Pilot Study of PMHNP Students’ Knowledge, Confidence, and Attitudes to Inform Telemental Health Curriculum Enhancement

BACKGROUND: Telemental health (TMH) has been shown to improve access to mental health services. However, a lack of formal telehealth education may be a significant barrier to the widespread effective use of this technology. AIMS: This pilot study explored psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) students' knowledge, confidence, and attitudes about delivering telemental healthcare following a telemental health curriculum enhancement. METHODS: A multi-faceted evidence-based TMH curriculum was integrated into the PMHNP graduate program. To inform future curriculum enhancement, a mixed-methods descriptive study was conducted using a 22-item tele-OSCE (objective structured clinical exam) questionnaire to assess students' knowledge, confidence, and attitudes toward telehealth competencies. Narrative questions were included to gain greater insight into the curriculum's impact. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to evaluate the results. RESULTS: A sample of 11 students showed high knowledge scores except in the areas of understanding laws and regulations for the discipline and policies for their organization. Confidence scores were high in many areas, with a few aspects showing lower scores, such as building rapport and communicating using TMH. Attitude scores were primarily strong. Narrative data indicated some students were able to develop more knowledge of laws and regulations than others. Finally, simulation and clinical aspects of the curriculum enhanced learning. CONCLUSIONS: Formal TMH education can enhance PMHNP students' knowledge, confidence, and attitudes toward this healthcare delivery modality. The development and integration of standardized telehealth education in nurse practitioner (NP) programs is critical in promoting widespread telehealth use and improving patient outcomes.