Consumer participation in nurse education : a national survey of Australian universities

Consumers of mental health services have an important role to play in the higher education of nursing students, by facilitating understanding of the experience of mental illness and instilling a culture of consumer participation. Yet the level of consumer participation in mental health nursing programmes in Australia is not known. The aim of the present study was to scope the level and nature of involvement of consumers in mental health nursing higher education in Australia. A cross-sectional study was undertaken involving an internet survey of nurse academics who coordinate mental health nursing programmes in universities across Australia, representing 32 universities. Seventy-eight percent of preregistration and 75% of post-registration programmes report involving consumers. Programmes most commonly had one consumer (25%) and up to five. Face-to-face teaching, curriculum development, and membership-to-programme committees were the most regular types of involvement. The content was generally codeveloped by consumers and nurse academics (67.5%). The frequency of consumer involvement in the education of nursing students in Australia is surpris ingly high. However, involvement is noticeably variable across types of activity (e.g. curriculum development, assessment), and tends to be minimal and ad hoc. Future research is required into the drivers of increased consumer involvement

Lived experience in teaching mental health nursing : issues of fear and power

Australian mental health policy clearly articulates recovery focus as the underpinning of mental health services. Barriers to achieving a recovery focus are identified in the literature, with negative attitudes of health professionals receiving particular attention. The involvement of people with lived experience of significant mental health challenges and mental health service use is essential to enhancing more positive attitudes. Lived-experience involvement in the education of nurses is evident; however, it is generally limited and implemented on an ad hoc basis. Overall, there is a paucity of literature on this topic. A qualitative exploratory study was undertaken to elicit the views and perceptions of nurse academics and lived-experience educators about the inclusion of lived experience in mental health nursing education. One major theme to emerge from the research was issues of fear and power, which included three subthemes: facing fear, demystifying mental illness, and issues of power. Lived-experience involvement has an important role to play in the education of nurses in addressing fear and demystifying the experience of mental illness. The power that lived-experience educators exercised in their roles varied considerably, and for many, was limited. Therefore, the effectiveness of lived-experience involvement requires a more equitable distribution of power

Administering intramuscular injections : how does research translate into practice over time in the mental health setting?

Background: Increasingly, mental health nurses are expected to base their clinical practice on evidence based knowledge and many of the practice traditions that have passed between generations of nurses must now be examined within this scientific context. Since 2000, there has been an increasing debate on what is best practice for the administration of intramuscular injections particularly in relation to site selection, needle size and technique. Weight gain associated with second generation long acting antipsychotics influences the site and needle size for effective medication delivery. Aim: To determine intramuscular injecting practice choices made by nurses working in the mental health setting in 2006 compared to those made by a similar group of nurses in 2012. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study conducted across two time points: 2006 (93 participants) and 2012 (245 participants) utilising the same questionnaire designed to measure nurses' intramuscular injecting practice choices. Results: Data were analysed using SPSS version 20 package. Six statistically significant practice changes were recorded related to needle size, site selection and the use of the Z-tracking technique. A continued higher usage of the dorsogluteal site was also reported in 2012 contrary to the recommendations in the current research for the ventrogluteal site. Conclusion: Whilst some practice changes occurred, translation of research into evidenced based practice is challenging and definitive best practice in the administration of intramuscular injections remains unclear. Education and randomised controlled trials are needed to provide the evidence to ensure the delivery of safe and effective intramuscular injecting practice

Mental health lived experience academics in tertiary education : the views of nurse academics

Background: Australian national mental health strategy emphasises inclusion of people diagnosed with mental illness in all areas of mental health care, policy development and education of health professionals. However, the way this inclusion has translated to Australian universities is relatively unexplored. Objectives: Explore views of nurse academics regarding service user involvement in nursing education programmes. Design: Qualitative exploratory. Settings: Australian universities offering educational programmes in nursing at postgraduate and undergraduate levels. Participants: Thirty four participants from 27 Australian universities participated. Methods: Data were collected using semi-structured telephone interviews with academics involved in teaching and/or coordinating undergraduate and/or postgraduate mental health nursing contents. Data were analysed using content analysis based on four cognitive processes: comprehending, synthesising, theorising and recontextualising data. Results: Four major themes emerged: good idea? longway to go; conceptualising the service user academic role; strengths of lived experience led student learning; and barriers to implementation. Conclusions: Findings indicated strong support for including mental health service users in teaching nursing students. However, at most universities service user engagement was often an informal arrangement, lacking clear guidelines and limited by financial barriers and the positioning of mental health nursing within curricula

Survey of antipsychotic medication curriculum content in Australian university nursing programmes

Antipsychotic medication has long been one of the first-line interventions for people with serious mental illness, with outcomes including reductions in symptoms and relapse rates. More recently, however, questions have been raised about the efficacy of antipsychotic medications, especially in light of th ei r side-effect profile. Such questions have implications for the nurses administering antipsychotic medications, particularly in relation to their knowledge of the antipsychotic medication, its efficacy, and side-effect profile. Also important is the education of nursing students about antipsychotic medications, their use, and management. The present study reports findings of re search that explored current curriculum content concerning psychopharmacological treatment in Australian undergraduate and postgraduate nursing programmes. Using a survey design, the research examined the content and modes of delivery of this content to gauge how well students are prepared for administering antipsychotic medication to people with serious mental illness. Findings of the research suggested the need for improvement in preparing nursing students to administer antipsychotic medication, including indications, contraindications, as well as recognition and management of side-effects

Staff experiences of providing support to students who are managing mental health challenges : a qualitative study from two Australian universities

The prevalence and consequences of mental health challenges amongst university students is now widely acknowledged and university staff provide an important but often hidden service to these students. While completing a university degree is important to the student’s long-term outcomes there remains a paucity of literature on the support role provided to these students by staff . To contribute to knowledge in this area, a qualitative exploratory study was completed with academic and professional staff at two Australian universities in 2013. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 26 participants to document their experiences and to identify the barriers and enablers to their support role to students.Data were analysed using thematic analysis and four themes emerged: (1) Factors that facilitate initiation of staff support; (2) barriers to providing support; (3) challenges facing staff; and (4) how universities support students with mental health challenges. Staff acknowledged the personal and organisational challenges they experienced but also highlighted the rewards they received associated with the role. The provision of training and the acknowledgement of the hidden role and workload by universities were important to ensuring positive outcomes for this group of students

A unified call to action from Australian nursing and midwifery leaders: Ensuring that Black lives matter

Nurses and midwives of Australia now is the time for change! As powerfully placed, Indigenous and non-Indigenous nursing and midwifery professionals, together we can ensure an effective and robust Indigenous curriculum in our nursing and midwifery schools of education. Today, Australia finds itself in a shifting tide of social change, where the voices for better and safer health care ring out loud. Voices for justice, equity and equality reverberate across our cities, our streets, homes, and institutions of learning. It is a call for new songlines of reform. The need to embed meaningful Indigenous health curricula is stronger now than it ever was for Australian nursing and midwifery. It is essential that nursing and midwifery leadership continue to build an authentic collaborative environment for Indigenous curriculum development. Bipartisan alliance is imperative for all academic staff to be confident in their teaching and learning experiences with Indigenous health syllabus. This paper is a call out. Now is the time for Indigenous and non-Indigenous nurses and midwives to make a stand together, for justice and equity in our teaching, learning, and practice. Together we will dismantle systems, policy, and practices in health that oppress. The Black Lives Matter movement provides us with a ‘now window’ of accepted dialogue to build a better, culturally safe Australian nursing and midwifery workforce, ensuring that Black Lives Matter in all aspects of health care