Community Mental Health Nursing: Jack of all trades and master of none
Title: Community Mental Health Nursing:Jack-of-all-trades and Master of None or a necessarily Versatile Profession
Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore whether Mental Health Nurses truly understand their role and whether they base their professional identity on united views about the unique skills, knowledge and expertise brought by them to a multidisciplinary care delivery process. Several studies have attempted to define the role of the Mental Health Nurse (MHN) and concluded that mental health nursing was difficult to comprehend. Clear role definition is essential for maintaining a sustainable professional identify and directing the focus of Mental Health Nurses in their clinical practice. 8 Community Mental Health Nurses (CMHN) working across two mental health teams were approached to participate using a questionnaire. Transcripts were analysed using a qualitative approach based on grounded theory. A number of key themes were identified, which defined mental health nursing roles. First, CMHNs expected to conduct more psychologically based interventions than were achievable in practice. Second, emphasis on knowledge of medication and administration was highlighted as paramount. Finally CMHNs view development of a therapeutic working alliance as essential. In conclusion, there was evidence of an eroding away of the fundamental and essential tasks of Mental Health Nurses and reasons for this were multi-factorial, giving the impetus to broaden the project and capture nursing views across ……….Trust CNWL which employs 3….. mental health nurses. Keywords: grounded theory, interventions and roles, mental health nursing. Introduction Historically, nursing has been practiced interdependently with medicine or on occasions instead of. The founder of the modern nursing profession Florence Nightingale advocated for nursing to have a unique body of knowledge and skills, different from that of the medical profession. More than 100 years ago, the quest
Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore whether Mental Health Nurses truly understand their role and whether they base their professional identity on united views about the unique skills, knowledge and expertise brought by them to a multidisciplinary care delivery process. Several studies have attempted to define the role of the Mental Health Nurse (MHN) and concluded that mental health nursing was difficult to comprehend. Clear role definition is essential for maintaining a sustainable professional identify and directing the focus of Mental Health Nurses in their clinical practice. 8 Community Mental Health Nurses (CMHN) working across two mental health teams were approached to participate using a questionnaire. Transcripts were analysed using a qualitative approach based on grounded theory. A number of key themes were identified, which defined mental health nursing roles. First, CMHNs expected to conduct more psychologically based interventions than were achievable in practice. Second, emphasis on knowledge of medication and administration was highlighted as paramount. Finally CMHNs view development of a therapeutic working alliance as essential. In conclusion, there was evidence of an eroding away of the fundamental and essential tasks of Mental Health Nurses and reasons for this were multi-factorial, giving the impetus to broaden the project and capture nursing views across ……….Trust CNWL which employs 3….. mental health nurses. Keywords: grounded theory, interventions and roles, mental health nursing. Introduction Historically, nursing has been practiced interdependently with medicine or on occasions instead of. The founder of the modern nursing profession Florence Nightingale advocated for nursing to have a unique body of knowledge and skills, different from that of the medical profession. More than 100 years ago, the quest