There is some evidence of previous use of simulation in educating mental health professionals in both medicine and nursing (Robinson 1983, Smyth 1983, Hilty et al. 2006, Srinivasan et al. 2006). Aspects of psychiatric nursing make it a specialty for which simulation activities are particularly beneficial. Unfamiliarity with and stigmatization of mental disorders result in the common presence of fear among students towards the specialty. Videos and simulations that portray the psychiatric population and setting more realistically help to dispel student anxieties before they have a real encounter. With therapeutic use of self as the psychiatric nurse’s primary tool, it can be difficult for faculty to assess student competence as the random and often sensitive nature of 1:1 interactions do not lend well to observation. Moreover, student exposure to ‘classic’ clinical examples is sporadic. Shorter patient lengths of stay, fewer hours in the clinical setting and increasing organizational liability further restrict student involvement with more acute patients; consequently, there is a lower potential for ‘hands-on’ intervention. Incorporating simulation in psychiatric nursing education helps to dispel the common misperception of the specialty as oversimplified and lacking standards or objectivity.