Nurse Training, Attitudes and Comfort, and Confidence in Suicidal Patient Care

Abstract

Emergency department (ED) visits related to suicide continue to increase, and ED nurses are said to be on the “front lines” of suicide prevention. Yet, many nurses do not receive adequate training to care for suicidal patients. Lack of training can contribute to negative attitudes towards suicidal patients, decreased comfort and lack confidence working with suicidal patients, potentially reducing quality of care. Patients who report negative experiences in ED environments may also be at risk of increasing instances of self-harm. However, increases in nursing comfort and confidence has shown to lead to improved suicidal patient experiences and care With this in mind, we hypothesized that ED nurses’ confidence in caring for suicidal patients would mediate the relationship between training and attitudes/comfort caring for suicidal patients.