Construction and Application of a “4S” Practical Teaching Model for Nursing Psychology Based on Educational Psychodrama Theory

Abstract

Objectives: This study set out to build a “4S” practical teaching model for nursing psychology on the basis of educational psychodrama theory, and to test how well it worked in a real course. Methods: The participants were 27 four-year undergraduate nursing students of the 2020 cohort at Air Force Medical University. The model runs through four stages—Situation Exploration, Script Creation, Showcase Presentation, and Self-awareness—and was tried out in the practical session of the chapter “Mental Health Maintenance of Nurses” in the Nursing Psychology course. When the course ended, every student filled in a self-developed questionnaire (23 five-point Likert items plus one item on knowledge mastery); we also purposively recruited 14 students for semi-structured interviews, which were analysed following Colaizzi’s phenomenological procedure. Results: All questionnaires were returned valid (response rate 100%). More than half of the students (55.56%) said they could flexibly apply what they had learned, and no one reported poor mastery or failure to understand the content. Of the non-knowledge gains, “viewing patients with greater equality, respect, and care” drew the highest “strongly agree” rate (92.59%). The interview data yielded three themes: enhanced psychological nursing competence, improved coping ability, and growth of professional spirit. Conclusion: In this pilot the “4S” model worked well: it helped students turn knowledge into competence and strengthened their professional spirit. For other instructors of nursing psychology, it offers a workable template for practical teaching reform.