Rural Generalist Nurses' Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Their Therapeutic Interventions for Patients With Mental Illness

OBJECTIVE: To explore generalist nurses' perceptions of their efficacy in caring for mentally ill clients in rural and remote settings, and their educational needs in the area of mental health care. DESIGN: A self-administered questionnaire adapted from the Mental Health Problems Perception Questionnaire; a Likert scale used to rate the perceptions of nursing staff of their own ability to adequately treat and care for patients experiencing mental illness. Setting: The Roma and Charleville Health Service Districts, Queensland, Australia. SUBJECTS: Nurses (Registered Nurses, Assistants in Nursing and Enrolled Nurses) in the Roma and Charleville health service districts (n = 163). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Generalist nurses' perceptions regarding their therapeutic commitment, role competency and role support. Results: Seventy per cent of respondents indicated that limited knowledge of mental health problems was an issue preventing nursing staff in rural and remote settings from providing optimum care to patients with mental illness. Twenty-nine per cent of respondents indicated that they had never received or undertaken training or education in relation to the care, treatment or assessment of patients with mental illness. CONCLUSION: Rural nurses do not feel competent, nor adequately supported, to deal with patients with mental health problems. In addition, the nurses' education and ongoing training do not adequately prepare them for this sphere

Mental health content of comprehensive pre-registration nursing curricula in Australia

In 2008 the final report of the Mental Health Nurse Education Taskforce was released. This paper presents the findings of the report’s survey into the mental health content of generic pre-registration nursing curricula in Australia. A questionnaire was sent to all nursing schools providing pre-registration curricula. Results indicate curricula contained a wide range of mental health theory and clinical hours. While the majority of universities incorporated most of the 20 key topics recommended by the Mental Health Nurse Education Taskforce in their courses, few addressed issues such as Indigenous mental health. There was considerable competition for placements between universities, and concern about the quality of some placements. Nurse academics with formal qualifications in mental health and specialist clinical mental health nurses were mainly involved in teaching theory. Specialist mental health clinicians and clinical educators were the key groups engaged in students’ clinical education, and preceptorship was the most common form of clinical supervision. Consumers and carers had limited involvement in the development or provision of mental health content of pre-registration curricula. Greater attention is needed to increasing the mental health content in pre-registration curricula. Furthermore, initiatives should be developed to increase access to clinical placements and reduce competition for places between universities