industry & reform virtually no mental health input in their place-based course education ,” he says . The decision to abolish the need for separate psychiatric nurse registration in the 90s is an issue according to Hazleton , and re-introducing such a register would make sure the mental health workforce is up to the task of dealing with a larger population of Australians with mental health needs .
Hazelton believes there needs to be a concerted effort by the health department to plan for nurse shortages and a greater understanding of the skills a trained mental health nurse has .
“ The starting point needs to be that we can actually identify who a mental health nurse is , in terms of their knowledge , skills and capability . It should be people who have formal qualifications in the area , through whatever means they can legitimately obtain those qualifications ,” he says .
“ The second point would be that we need to be planning for the predictions in terms of workforce shortage . We don ’ t see much evidence of that , and we haven ’ t for a long time ,” he says .
“ The third area would be that very good expert mental health nurses have quite a high skill and capability level , much of which is basically not being utilised because of the narrowness of the expectations that governments and health departments seem to have , surrounding what it is that mental health nurses can actually do .
“ You talk to politicians and bureaucrats ; they seem to have no awareness of what it is that people can do . Here we are talking about the medium and longer term consequences of COVID and the need to significantly expand the mental health workforce , and mental health nursing doesn ’ t seem to be part of the equation . “ We don ’ t have access to Medicarefunded programs , and we can ’ t get them to even come to the party and start to have a serious discussion about what it is that we could do to expand our practise and start actually filling in some of the gaps that everyone ’ s identified in the mental health service area .”
“ We need to be planning for the predictions in terms of workforce shortage . We don ’ t see much evidence of that .
And with all this in mind , Hazelton urges nurses to consider a career in the mental health space .
“ Mental health nursing would suit someone who really wants to make a difference and work with some of the most vulnerable members of our society . Mental health nursing can be very rewarding and embodies the concept of caring by supporting clients who are unable to maintain mental , social or physical health functions for themselves .
“ We work on the basis of empowering our clients to take an active role in self-advocacy and self-care ,” Hazelton says . ■
The laTesT news and resources for healThcare professionals
Nursing Review is essential reading for anyone involved in the healthcare sector in Australia . It provides unrivalled coverage of specialist topics from features and opinion pieces , to international news and profiles .
• Latest news and resources for all healthcare professionals
• Comprehensive coverage of a diverse range of topics
• Analysis of the major issues facing the health sector as a whole
• Delivered free of charge
• 6 issues per year
• Only publication in the country dedicated to reporting issues important to nurses
Please call 02 9936 8666 or email subs @ apned . com . au to find out more .
nursingreview . com . au | 9