The Leadership Role of Nurse Educators in Mental Health Nursing

Leadership behaviors and actions influence others to act, and leadership in clinical practice is an important mediator influencing patient outcomes and staff satisfaction. Indeed, positive clinical leadership has been positioned as a crucial element for transformation of health care services and has led to the development of the Practice Doctorate Movement in the United States. Nurse educators in health care have a vital leadership role as clinical experts, role models, mentors, change agents, and supporters of quality projects. By enacting these leadership attributes, nurse educators ensure a skilled and confident workforce that is focused on optimizing opportunities for students and graduates to integrate theory and practice in the workplace as well as developing more holistic models of care for the consumer. Nurse educators need to be active in supporting staff and students in health care environments and be visible leaders who can drive policy and practice changes and engage in professional forums, research, and scholarship. Although nurse educators have always been a feature of the nursing workplace, there is a paucity of literature on the role of nurse educators as clinical leaders. This discursive article describes the role and attributes of nurse educators with a focus on their role as leaders in mental health nursing. We argue that embracing the leadership role is fundamental to nurse educators and to influencing consumer-focused care in mental health. We also make recommendations for developing the leadership role of nurse educators and provide considerations for further research such as examining the impact of clinical leaders on client, staff, and organizational outcomes.     

Influencing Undergraduate Nursing Students' Attitudes Toward Mental Health Nursing: Acknowledging the Role of Theory

Most research designed to explore undergraduate nursing students' attitudes towards mental health nursing tends to uphold clinical experience as the decisive factor, with much less attention paid to the theoretical component. This paper presents the findings of a state-wide study conducted with undergraduate nursing students in Victoria, Australia. A pre- and post-test design was used to measure students' attitudes toward people with a mental illness and toward mental health nursing and their sense of preparedness for mental health practice. A questionnaire was administered at two time points; the first time point was following completion of the mental health nursing theoretical component, and the second was following the completion of clinical experience. An additional scale was added at the second time point to evaluate students' opinions about their clinical placement. The findings indicated significantly different attitudes and opinions depending on the university students attended. The amount of theory undertaken in the course accounts for some, but not all, of this variance. However, generally the students taking courses with a larger theoretical component tended to demonstrate higher scores (suggestive of more favourable attitudes) on all of the subscales, and that these differences were sustained following the completion of the clinical placement. These findings suggest that the amount of theory students receive in mental health nursing may be more influential than the relevant literature suggests.     

自主式心理健康教育活动在高职护生中的实施研究

目的缓解心理健康教育工作中存在的两多一少(学生人数多、心理问题多、专业老师少)困境,开发学生助人、助己的潜能。方法以某校2005级高职护理专业17个班学生(共952人)为主要对象,开展自助、互助、求助等自主式心理健康教育活动,为期1年。以症状自评量表(Symptom Checklist-90,SCL-90)为工具,在教育前后进行测查。结果心理健康教育前2005级高职护生SCL-90总均分及各因子分明显高于全国常模(P<0.01)。开展自主式心理健康教育后,除躯体化、恐怖2项指标外,其余项目分均有明显下降(P<0.05或P<0.01)。结论充分发挥高职护生在心理健康教育活动中的自主作用,有利于学生心理健康水平提高。     

The Pediatric Mental Health Specialist: Role Delineation

Advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) specialties build on regulated role and population competencies and add expertise in a discrete area of practice. The Consensus Model speaks to the need for the nursing profession to create mechanisms that validate APRN competencies in new specialty areas that emerge from patients’ health care needs. The Pediatric Nursing Certification Board conducted a role-delineation study to examine the specialty area of pediatric primary care mental health. The result is a new certification and examination that validate knowledge, skills, and expertise for the role of the pediatric mental health specialist.     

The Importance of Communication for Clinical Leaders in Mental Health Nursing: The Perspective of Nurses Working in Mental Health

Communication has been identified as an important attribute of clinical leadership in nursing. However, there is a paucity of research on its relevance in mental health nursing. This article presents the findings of a grounded theory informed study exploring the attributes and characteristics required for effective clinical leadership in mental health nursing, specifically the views of nurses working in mental health about the importance of effective communication in day to day clinical leadership. In-depth interviews were conducted to gain insight into the participants’ experiences and views on clinical leadership in mental health nursing. The data that emerged from these interviews were constantly compared and reviewed, ensuring that any themes that emerged were based on the participants' own experiences and views. Participants recognized that effective communication was one of the attributes of effective clinical leadership and they considered communication as essential for successful working relationships and improved learning experiences for junior staff and students in mental health nursing. Four main themes emerged: choice of language; relationships; nonverbal communication, and listening and relevance. Participants identified that clinical leadership in mental health nursing requires effective communication skills, which enables the development of effective working relationships with others that allows them to contribute to the retention of staff, improved outcomes for clients, and the development of the profession.     

Improved Education and Training for Nursing Assistants: Keys to Promoting the Mental Health of Nursing Home Residents

The mental health of older adults contributes to their overall well-being. However, numerous studies have reported substantial prevalence of mental health problems, especially depression, in nursing home residents. Due to the poor quality of education and training provided to nursing home front-line caregivers, most of whom are nursing assistants, many residents experiencing depression are not recognized as such and consequently receive no treatment. Emphasizing the aging process and mental health components in education and training programs for nursing assistants could have a positive impact on the detection and treatment of depression in residents.