Nurse Education in Practice
Volume 7, Issue 3 , Pages 164-172 , May 2007

So what is so good about clinical experience? A mental health nursing perspective

  • Susan Henderson

      Affiliations

    • School of Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University, Gippsland Campus, Northways Road, Churchill, Vic. 3842, Australia
    • Centre for Psychiatric Nursing Research and Practice, School of Nursing, The University of Melbourne, 1/723 Swantson St., Carlton, Vic. 3010, Australia
    • School of Nursing, The University of Melbourne, Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health, Locked Bag 10, Fairfield, Vic. 3078, Australia
    • Tel.: +61 3 5122 6438; fax: +61 3 5122 6529.
    • ,
  • Brenda Happell

      Affiliations

    • Centre for Psychiatric Nursing Research and Practice, School of Nursing, The University of Melbourne, 1/723 Swantson St., Carlton, Vic. 3010, Australia
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +61 3 8344 0769; fax: +61 3 9347 4172.
    • ,
  • Trish Martin

      Affiliations

    • School of Nursing, The University of Melbourne, Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health, Locked Bag 10, Fairfield, Vic. 3078, Australia

,Accepted 11 June 2006.

References 

  1. Allen C, Simpson A. Peers and partners: working together to strengthen preceptorship in mental health nursing. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. 2000;7(6):505–514
  2. Andrews G, Garrity A. Anxiety disorders: recognition and management. Australian Family Physician. 2000;29(4):337–341
  3. Andrews G, Slade T, Issakidis C. Deconstructing current comorbidity: data from the Australian national survey of mental health and well-being. British Journal of Psychiatry. 2002;181:306–314
  4. Armitage S, McMaster R. Rural and remote mental health placements for nursing students. Australian Journal of Rural Health. 2000;8(3):175–179
  5. Armstrong MA, Pieranunzi V. Interpretive approaches to teaching/learning in the psychiatric/mental health practicum. Journal of Nursing Education. 2000;39(6):274–277
  6. Arnold S, Deans C, Munday J. University and service sector collaboration for undergraduate psychiatric nursing education. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. 2004;13(1):61–66
  7. Australian Bureau of Statistics . Mental Health and Wellbeing: Profile of Adults (No. 0642257264). Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics; 1998;
  8. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare . Mental Health: A Report Focusing on Depression (No. 0642394067). Canberra: AIHW; 1999;
  9. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2001. Nursing labour force 1999 (No. 174024138X), Canberra.
  10. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare . Nursing Labour Force 2002 (Electronic version No. HWL 29). Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; 2003;
  11. Bailey SR. An exploration of critical care nurses’ and doctors’ attitudes towards psychiatric patients. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing. 1998;15(3):8–14
  12. Bell A, Horsfall J, Goodin W. The mental health nursing clinical confidence scale: a tool for measuring undergraduate learning on mental health clinical placements. Australian New Zealand Journal of Mental Health Nursing. 1998;7(4):184–190
  13. Brown B, O’Mara L, Hunsberger M, Love B, Black M, Carpio B, et al. Professional confidence in baccalaureate nursing students. Nurse Education in Practice. 2003;3:163–170
  14. Callaghan P, Shan CS, Yu LS, Ching LW, Kwan TL. Attitudes towards mental illness: testing the contact hypothesis among Chinese student nurses in Hong Kong. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 1997;26(1):33–40
  15. Chan S, Cheng B. Creating positive attitudes: the effects of knowledge and clinical experience of psychiatry in student nurse education. Nurse Education Today. 2001;21(6):434–443
  16. Clinton M. Scoping Study of The Australian Mental Health Nursing Workforce 1999 (No. 0642735204). Canberra: Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care; 2001;
  17. Clinton M, Hazelton M. Scoping mental health nursing education. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Mental Health Nursing. 2000;9(1):2–10
  18. Clinton, M., du Boulay, S., Hazelton, M., Horner, B. 2001. Mental health nurse education and health labour force: literature review. <http://www.detya.gov.au/highered/nursing/pubs/mental_health/1.htm> (accessed 07.03.03.).
  19. Commonwealth of Australia . National Review of Nursing Education: Discussion Paper (No. 0642772304). Canberra: Department of Education Training and Youth Affairs; 2001;
  20. Commonwealth of Australia, 2002. National review of nursing education 2002. Our duty of care (No. 0642 77314 9). Department of Education Science and Training, Canberra.
  21. Department of Education Science and Training . Students 2001: Selected Higher Education Statistics (Electronic version No. 1443-6647). Canberra: Department of Education Science and Training; 2002;
  22. Department of Human Services . Victorian Burden Of Disease Study: Morbidity (No. 0731160436). Melbourne: Public Health Division Department of Human Services; 1999;
  23. Department of Human Services . Nurse Recruitment and Retention Committee: Final Report. Melbourne: Department of Human Services Victoria: Policy and Strategic Projects Division; 2001;
  24. Fisher JE. Fear and learning in mental health settings. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. 2002;11(2):128–134
  25. Gillette J, Bucknell M, Meegan E. Evaluation of Psychiatric Nurse Clinical Consultancy in Emergency Departments Project. Melbourne: Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health; 1996;
  26. Granskar M, Edberg A, Fridlund B. Nursing students’ experience of their first professional encounter with people having mental disorders. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. 2001;8(3):249–256
  27. Grindel CG, Bateman AL, Patsdaughter CA, Babington LM, Medici G. Student contributions to clinical agencies: a comparison of adult health and psychiatric staff nurses’ perceptions. Nursing and Health Care Perspectives. 2001;22(4):197–202
  28. Haas BK, Hermanns MS. A combined adult health/mental health clinical experience: fostering holistic practice. Nurse Educator. 2003;28(2):51–53
  29. Haffer AG, Raingruber BJ. Discovering confidence in clinical reasoning and critical thinking development in baccalaureate nursing students. Journal of Nursing Education. 1998;37(2):61–70
  30. Happell B. Comprehensive nursing education: mission incomplete?. Australian Electronic Journal of Nursing Education. 1998;4(1):<http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/nhcp/aejne/archive/vol4-1/bhappellvol4_1.html>(accessed 07.03.03)
  31. Happell B. Who wants to be a psychiatric nurse? Novice student nurses’ interest in psychiatric nursing. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. 1999;6(6):479–484
  32. Happell B. Can education make a difference to undergraduate nursing students’ attitudes to psychiatric nursing?. Contemporary Nurse. 2000;9(1):40–50
  33. Happell B. Comprehensive nursing education in Victoria: rhetoric or reality?. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. 2001;8(6):507–516
  34. Harris EC, Barraclough B. Excess mortality of mental disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry. 1998;173:11–53
  35. Hopkins C. ’But what about the really ill, poorly people?’ (An ethnographic study into what it means to nurses on medical admissions units to have people who have harmed themselves as their patients). Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. 2002;9(2):147–154
  36. Hotopf M, Mayou R, Wadsworth M, Wessely S. Temporal relationships between physical symptoms and psychiatric disorder: results from a national birth cohort. British Journal of Psychiatry. 1998;173:255–261
  37. LoBiondo-Wood G, Haber J. Nursing Research: Methods, Critical Appraisal, and Utilization. fourth ed.. St. Louis: Mosby; 1998;
  38. Martin T, Happell B. Undergraduate nursing students’ views of mental health nursing in the forensic environment. Australian New Zealand Journal of Mental Health Nursing. 2001;10(2):116–125
  39. Mathers C, Vos T, Stevenson C. The Burden of Disease and Injury in Australia. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; 1999;
  40. Mavundla TR. Professional nurses’ perception of nursing mentally ill people in a general hospital setting. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 2000;32(6):1569–1578
  41. Mullen A, Murray L. Clinical placements in mental health: are clinicians doing enough for undergraduate nursing students?. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. 2002;11(1):61–68
  42. Munnukka T, Pukuri T, Linnainmaa P, Kilkku N. Integration of theory and practice in learning mental health nursing. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. 2002;9(1):5–14
  43. Nganasurian WE. Evaluating learning opportunities offered to mental health nursing students. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. 1998;5(5):393–402
  44. Nolan PW, Chung MC. Nursing students’ perceptions of their first mental health placement. Nurse Education Today. 1999;19(2):122–128
  45. Ogle, K.R., Bethune, E., Nugent, P., Walker, A., 2001. Nursing education and graduates: profiles for 1999 and 2000, with projections for 2001. <http://www.detya.gov.au/highered/eippubs/eip01_13/default.htm> (accessed 07.03.03.).
  46. Perese EF. Undergraduates’ perceptions of their psychiatric practicum: positive and negative factors in inpatient and community experience. Journal of Nursing Education. 1996;35(6):281–285
  47. Rohde D. Uncovering a world of mental illness: an analysis in perceptual transformation in undergraduate nursing students. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing. 1996;10(6):347–354
  48. Senate Community Affairs Committee . The Patient Profession: Time For Action. Report on The Inquiry Into Nursing. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service; 2002;
  49. Sharrock J, Happell B. The role of the psychiatric consultation-liaison nurse in the improved care of patients experiencing mental health problems receiving care within a general hospital environment. Contemporary Nurse. 2001;11(2–3):260–270
  50. Slimmer LW, Wendt A, Martinkus D. Effect of psychiatric clinical learning site on nursing students’ attitudes toward mental illness and psychiatric nursing. Journal of Nursing Education. 1990;29(3):127–133
  51. Stevens JA, Dulhunty GM. A career with mentally ill people: an unlikely destination for graduates of pre-registration nursing programs. Electronic Journal of Nursing Education. 1997;13(1):<http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/nhcp/aejne/archive/vol3-1/acareer.htm>(accessed 07.03.03.)
  52. Thornton R, Chapman H. Student voice in curriculum making. Journal of Nursing Education. 2000;39(3):124–132
  53. Wand T, Happell B. The mental health nurse: contributing to improved outcomes for patients in the emergency department. Accident and Emergency Nursing. 2001;9(3):166–176
  54. World Health Organisation . Mental health: A Call for Action by World Health Ministers. Geneva: WHO; 2001;
  55. Wynaden D, Orb A, McGowan S, Downie J. Are universities preparing nurses to meet the challenges posed by the Australian mental health care system?. Australian New Zealand Journal of Mental Health Nursing. 2000;9(3):138–146

PII: S1471-5953(06)00072-2

doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2006.06.003

Nurse Education in Practice
Volume 7, Issue 3 , Pages 164-172 , May 2007

Article Tools