- Title
- Under Prepared for Practice: A Qualitative Study of Mental Health Nurse Undergraduate Workforce Preparation in Australia
- Creator
- Hurley, John; Lakeman, Richard; Moxham, Lorna; Foster, Kim; Hazelton, Michael; Happell, Brenda
- Relation
- Issues in Mental Health Nursing Vol. 45, Issue 8, p. 850-856
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01612840.2024.2354385
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2024
- Description
- Internationally there are both current and looming mental health workforce shortages. Mental health nurses who have received specialist education are a vital component to respond to these challenges. Aim: This qualitative study aimed to better understand the efficacy and product quality of mental health nurse workforce preparation through pre-registration nurse education in Australia. Method: To meet this aim 19 educators representing 13 different universities were qualitatively interviewed. Results: Thematic analysis found four themes (1) Graduates are under-prepared for safe mental health nurse practice; (2) Essential mental health nurse capabilities are missing in graduates; (3) Barriers to graduate preparation, and (4) Negative impacts of inadequate graduate preparation. Discussion: Findings from this study suggest future workforce shortages would be best addressed through direct undergraduate entry for mental health nursing Implications for Practice: All nurse undergraduate training needs significantly enhanced mental health theory and placement within the course.
- Subject
- mental health; shortages; workforce; Australia
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1510334
- Identifier
- uon:56387
- Identifier
- ISSN:0161-2840
- Rights
- x
- Language
- eng
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