Mental Health Nursing Education Research Articles

Mental health nursing students’ relationships with the pharmaceutical industry

The medical profession's relationship with the pharmaceutical industry (PI) has come under increased scrutiny in recent years, however little is known on the subject in mental health nursing. The study sought to investigate: (1) the frequency of contact between mental health nursing students and PI employees; (2) students' attitudes and beliefs about their relationship with the PI; (3) the range of 'gifts', promotional items and hospitality accepted or seen in clinical environments by students in a one year period; and (4) students' attitudes to 'gifts', promotional items and hospitality offered by the industry. Employing a survey design, a 35-item questionnaire was distributed to 472 students at two universities in the UK. Data were analysed from 347 respondents by means of descriptive statistics and simple content analysis. The findings suggest that students have significant contact with the industry through one-to-one meetings with pharmaceutical representatives (PRs) and by attending events giving information on specific drugs or general mental health issues. Students also identified a number of benefits (e.g. receiving "up-to-date" information on new drugs) and problems (e.g. the potential influence exerted on practitioners to use their drugs) arising out of this contact. Most students (79.8%) had accepted some form of 'gift' from the industry but few (11.5%) believed it was unacceptable to do so. The presence of promotional items in the clinical environment was seen as advertising (84.4%) but few students (19.3%) believed clinical environment should be free of these items. Over half (57.1%) of the students believed that PRs did not always give unbiased information but thought that they and mental health nurses in general would be able to detect any bias. In parallel with medicine, the study has shown that the pharmaceutical industry has at least the potential to influence mental health nursing students. Within medicine this realisation has triggered a vigorous debate on how medical schools should respond to the promotional activities of the PI. We suggest this study goes some way to demonstrating there is a need for these issues to be debated in the education of mental health nurses.

An examination of the scope and purpose of education in mental health nursing

This study examined the education of mental health nurses by surveying all qualified mental health nurses working within one National Health Service region in Scotland. Using an adaptation of a previously used instrument, 488 questionnaires were distributed producing a response rate of 194 (39.75%). The study's themes - initial preparation, professional development and future practice - reveal findings of interest, particularly the axis of RMN (pre-1992 education) and RMN (Project 2000 education). In terms of initial preparation, clear differences between groups were found. Pre-1992 RMNs' report on educational experience majoring on practical skills contrasts sharply with Project 2000 respondents who, in spite of a course philosophy of reflective practice, emphasised an apparent lack of practical skills for practice. For professional development, both groups valued flexible approaches via journal reading, teaching, networking and participating in clinical supervision. In terms of educational provision, short course provision with an emphasis on short, flexible course provision (e.g., in-service study days), practice education and closer (and flexible) links between higher education and the practice area were highlighted as the most important ways to prepare for future practice.

Reenvisioning Gerontological Mental Health Nursing Education: A Commentary

Reenvisioning gerontological mental health nursing begins with reinterpreting the meaning of aging and radically transforming the curriculum of the subspecialty. The commentary suggests 11 specific recommendations that expand on Morris and Mentes’s article as a way of reenvisioning and rerooting gerontological mental health nursing. Among the recommendations are renaming the subspecialty “gerontological mental health nursing” as a means to more appropriately reflect the multidisciplinary focus and mental health perspective, placing an equal emphasis on positive aspects of healthy aging, developing a standardized model curriculum, increasing the number of programs offering specialization in gerontological mental health nursing, and reinvigorating continuing education about gerontological mental health care for currently practicing nurses.

‘We used to call them student nurses’: Considering the impact of third‐level workers

‘We used to call them student nurses’: Considering the impact of third‐level workers

Fit for mental health practice?

Looking after the mental health of children and young people is everybody’s business. Nurses working in primary and community care settings, in hospitals and in specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) all have a part to play. However, there is robust evidence to suggest that pre-registration education does not adequately prepare nurses to work with children and young people with mental health difficulties. At both pre- and post-registration level, education and training opportunities are generally scarce. In a previous paper, we reviewed the development of child and adolescent mental health services in the UK (Davies et al 2002). We observed that, until recently, services have emerged in a patchy fashion, and have tended not to be seen as a priority area. We also discussed new developments in Wales, and in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan in particular. In this second paper we turn specifically to the issue of education and training. We begin with a discussion of the different levels of CAMHS provision, and on the work that different groups of nurses in different ‘tiers’ do in order to provide care for children and adolescents with mental health difficulties. We then concentrate specifically on the work of children’s nurses and the work of mental health nurses. We argue that, traditionally, the education of both child health and mental health nurses has tended not to emphasise the specific areas of skill and knowledge needed to care for young people experiencing mental health problems and their families. Finally, and as we did in our first paper, we turn to local developments in south Wales, and discuss how nurses’ awareness of child and adolescent mental health issues will be progressed through the new pre

Education for community mental health nurses: a summary of the key debates

A wide range of post-qualifying education courses exist for community mental health nurses (CMHNs) working in the UK. ‘Specialist practitioner’ courses emphasize shared learning between CMHNs and members of other community nursing branches. These programmes typically include course content drawing on the social and behavioural sciences, as well as on material more tailored to the clinical needs of practitioners. Such courses and their predecessors have been subject to criticism, however. Courses have been described as anachronistic, and failing to take account of recent advances in treatment modalities. In addition concerns about the generic focus of some programmes have also been raised. Educational alternatives, such as programmes preparing nurses and other mental health workers to provide ‘psycho-social interventions’ have, correspondingly, become increasingly popular. In this paper we explore some of the debates surrounding the education of CMHNs, and explore the context in which CMHNs work and in which educational programmes are devised. We consider the multidisciplinary environment in which CMHNs practise, the differing client groups with which CMHNs work, the developing policy framework in which mental health care is provided, demands for more user-responsive education, and the relationship between higher educational institutions and health care providers. We conclude the paper with a series of questions for CMHN educators and education commissioners.

The post-registration education and training of mental health nurses working in acute inpatient psychiatric settings

The post-registration education and training of mental health nurses working in acute inpatient psychiatric settings

The Fourth Quinquennial National Community Mental Health Nursing Census of England and Wales

Within an increasingly articulate policy framework, changes to the United Kingdom National Health Service have taken place and these have impacted on mental health service provision. They have particular implications for the work of community mental health nurses (CMHNs). Since 1980, a five-yearly national census of CMHNs has been conducted. Selected findings from the latest census, commissioned by the Department of Health, are set within the context of data derived from the three previous studies. Substantive implications which flow from the changes detected in the practice, organisation and management, and education of community mental health nurses in England and Wales, are discussed.

Peers and partners: working together to strengthen preceptorship in mental health nursing.

The Sussex Education Consortium commissioned a development project to identify the education and training needs of community mental health nurses (CMHNs). The project also afforded an opportunity to examine the CMHNs' perception of their role of preceptor with pre-registration diploma nursing (PRDN) students following the mental health branch. Utilizing a 'responsive evaluation' methodology, stakeholders' views were captured. As a consequence of the issues and concerns raised, the Consortium commissioned a second project, following a similar methodolgy, to explore preceptorship in greater depth. This paper reports stakeholders' views on preceptorship arrangements expressed in semi-structured interviews, focused group discussions and other fora during the two projects. Preceptor preparation and support arrangements did not meet the needs of preceptors. Many preceptors felt their role was neither valued nor acknowledged. The link lecturer role was perceived as important by preceptors; but lecturers were often unable to meet the expectations placed upon them. The volume of students and allocation arrangements caused problems for placement areas. Finding time to carry out the roles of the preceptor was a challenge for practitioners. Recommendations for improving preceptorship are discussed and developments described, illustrating how locally commissioned research may influence both education and practice in mental health nursing.

Scoping mental health nursing education.

In late 1999 the National Mental Health Working Group of the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council commissioned the Australian and New Zealand College of Mental Health Nurses to undertake a scoping study of mental health nursing. A final report will be submitted to the National Mental Health Working Group in February 2000. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to some of the systemic problems that confront the education of mental health nurses in Australia. Shortcomings in the preparation of undergraduate students of nursing for commencing practice in mental health nursing are described and comments are given on issues affecting the quality of postgraduate mental health nursing education.

The 4th quinquennial national community mental health nursing census of England and Wales.

Since 1980, a survey of community mental health nursing has been conducted in the United Kingdom, at five-yearly intervals. These three data sets have been uniquely useful in plotting trends in Community Mental Health Nursing (CMHN) activity over time. Substantial administrative changes to the National Health Service have taken place in England and Wales since 1990, however, and these have impacted on the nature of mental health service provision. These changes have implications for all mental health service personnel and, in particular, the work of community mental health nurses. This article presents selected findings from the national census, conducted between 1996 and 1997. It sets these findings within the context of data derived from the three previous national studies in the series and within the contemporary national policy context and discusses the substantive implications which flow from the changes detected over time in the practice, organisation and management, and education of community mental health nurses in England and Wales.

Miami advice

Dear Editor, I recently attended the first conference of the International Society of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurses (ISPN). This organisation is a confederation of three leading postgraduate US mental health nursing organisations — the Association of Child and Adolescence Psychiatric Nurses (ACAPN), the International Society of Psychiatric Consultation Liaison Nurses (ISPCLN), and the Society for Education and Research in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (SERPN).

The healing process, the road to recovery and positive mental health.

This paper is designed to explore and examine the experience of loss following a hysterectomy. The painful aftermath of the ordeal and the work involved in the healing process are outlined and discussed from both a personal and professional perspective. The manuscript highlights a number of inner struggles that had to negotiated before an equilibrium in mental health and wellbeing was successfully achieved. The forces that move the dialogue forward from one theme to the other are complex in their simplicity. The enigmatic dimensions of physical pain and emotional torment are expressed and worked through in a sensitive and intimate manner. The mysteries of internalized, conflicting messages on socialization issues, such as gender roles and living in and identifying with only one culture are discussed and debated. In addition, the disharmony between spiritual ideals, the meaning and purpose of life, the process of self-actualizing and the physical realities involved in living are identified and elaborated upon. Embroidered within the tapestry of the text is the need to revisit the curriculum for the education and training of mental health nurses to enhance the quality and provision of effective, humane and therapeutic nursing care.

Transcultural therapy. 2: Mental health and learning disabilities.

The first article in this two-part series (Vol 7(15): 901-6) examined the issues surrounding healthcare provision in the context of the UK as a multicultural society in relation to mental health and learning disabilities. This second article considers the development of psychotherapy, theory and skills of working in terms of its impact and influence upon the education and practice of community mental health nurses and community nurses in learning disability within the UK. The major schools of influence in psychology will be examined in relation to their limitations for practice with clients from various cultures. In addition, three multicultural models of counselling which address cultural diversity will be appraised. Finally, the need for educational systems and service providers to foster and develop positive cultural attitudes among nurse practitioners will be emphasized. Both individual practitioners and employment organizations will need to be much more responsive and committed to developing multicultural services as we approach the millennium.

Creating a new brand of mental health nurse.

Mental health nurse training provision has been criticized for failing to develop practitioners with the appropriate skills to care for clients with severe mental illness (Owen and Sweeney, 1995), However, a tide of change is about to wash over the initial and ongoing education of mental health nurses.

The developmentof the generalist nurse within preregistration nurse education in the UK: some points for consideration

A major difference between preregistrationnurse education in the UK as distinct from most other European countries is the existence of discrete branches of nursing. The package of four specialty areas of adult nursing, children's nursing, learning disability, and mental health nursing do not exist at preregistration level in the majority of other European countries. The Republic of Ireland offers pre-registration education in general, mental health and learning disability nursing, and not children's nursing. Intergovernmental support was givento the idea of a generalist nurse in 1988. Such a change in nurse education in the UK would have major implications for patients, nurses and the nursing profession, and requires careful consideration by all nurses in education and practice. This paper presents some of the keyarguments for and against the adoption of a generalist approach to pre-registration nurse education in the UK.

Reconceptualizingthe theory-practice gap in mental health nursing

The purpose of this paper is to identifythe key problems in bridging the gap between theory and practice in the education of mental health nurses and to propose a strategy for overcoming these problems. The paper begins by reviewing the existing literature on the subject of the theory-practice gap, and identifying the unique problems which mental health nursing faces in attempting to address them. It then goes on to propose a unified model of clinical nursing practice, nurse education and user involvement, which would place nurse educators at the forefront of radical reform of mental health services.

User involvement in the education of mental health nurses. An evaluation of possibilities

The central argument of this paper is that the substantive empower ment of users of mental health services can be most effectitely achieved by employing service users as educators of neophyte mental health professionals. Using British mental health nursing as a case study, this issue is discussed with reference to the occupational culture of nursing and the wider social-political context. The author con cludes that despite a rhetoric of 'citizenship' and user involivement in the planning of public services, the internal contradictions of Thatcherism and Majorism mitigate against the implementation of such radical change.

Nurses develop a plan for research on child and adolescent mental disorders.

JCPN Commentary presents a series of observations, opinions, and analyses of issues and trends in education and practice in psychiatric and mental health nursing, and social policy factors that influence families, or the delivery of health services to youth and their families.

Infant‐Toddler Mental Health An Emerging Concern

JCPN Commentary presents a series of obsenations, opinions, and analyses of issues and trends in education and practice in psychiatric and mental health nursing, and social policy factors that influence families, or the deliver of health services to youth and their families.