A better way to do this? Views of mental health nursing directors about preparation for mental health nursing practice.

Conclusions Nursing directors are important stakeholders in educational preparation for practice in mental health settings. The research participants described many potential benefits to undergraduate specialisation. Their voice provides an important contribution to this issue. What is known about the topic? The current model of nurse education in Australia aims to prepare graduates for practice in a broad range of healthcare settings with specialisation occurring at the postgraduate level. Mental health nursing is identified as one of the least popular career options for nursing graduates, and mental health services struggle to recruit sufficient graduates for their nursing workforce; this is attributed, at least in part, to the current model of education. What does this paper add? This paper gives voice to the perspectives of nursing directors from the mental health service delivery sector about the educational preparation for nursing practice in mental health. Nursing directors support the introduction of specialist preparation in mental health nursing at the undergraduate level. A more skilled and committed workforce is seen as contributing to addressing current recruitment problems. What are the implications for practitioners? The educational preparation for nursing graduates for mental health practice impacts significantly on nursing leaders, and their perspective is essential in addressing the debate. Mental health nursing directors need to be formally recognised as ke...
Source: Australian Health Review - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: research