This debate essay proposes possible remedies to the shortage of nurses in acute inpatient mental health settings and draws inspiration from a Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing editorial, Glascott and McKeown (2022, 29, 767).
this article discusses the benefits for nurse leaders to explore a new approach known as quantum leadership. This is a relationship-focused and value-based leadership style in which leaders understand that healthcare organisations have been in a state of flux and recognise how to respond constructively to change in the future. Quantum leadership enables nurse leaders to create and maintain synergistic team working, whereby the team works together towards the common goal of delivering optimal person-centred care. The author suggests that quantum leadership is an engaging and realistic approach to adopt, with benefits of all staff delivering healthcare services and ultimately for patients. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Aggression is a feature of many nurses’ working lives. Some see surveillance technology as a deterrent, others worry it undermines trust
Nurses groped by patients and even by colleagues. Inappropriate comments about someone’s appearance or sex life. Patients masturbating while staff try to deliver care. Threats of rape. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Ill health makes us vulnerable, and mental ill health that requires inpatient care, sometimes for weeks or months, even more so. Most mental health professionals strive to develop a therapeutic relationship with the people they care for that is underpinned by compassion, trust and safety. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
In this unique role, nurses offer clinical, professional and well-being support to colleagues
Professional nurse advocates (PNAs) provide professional clinical leadership in their clinical settings, says the RCN. This includes leading quality improvement programmes, developing positive learning cultures, and facilitating restorative clinical supervision (RCS) of nurses and healthcare staff, a process that supports individuals to have reflective conversations involving open feedback. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
A mental health nurse and lecturer suggests ways to approach people’s distress related to hearing voices.
Many mental health nurses (MHNs) and practitioners lack the knowledge and confidence to support people who hear voices. They may struggle to know how to help a person who is distressed by their voice hearing in a way that is meaningful and effective. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Two mental health nurses on how formulaic progress notes undermine advances made by the specialty.
Mental health nurses are professional and analytical, with a wealth of clinical knowledge and skills. But for some reason, our note-taking does not reflect the great strides the profession has made. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Vision-based monitoring is often used in mental health settings to observe patients but has become controversial.
Digital technologies are transforming the way healthcare is delivered. In mental health, non-contact patient observation systems have become popular in recent years to monitor patients and keep a check on their vital signs. But the technology has also caused some controversy with concerns raised about privacy issues. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Veteran-friendly practices aim to overcome this vulnerable group’s tendency to avoid seeking out help.
Mental health disorders are common in military veterans. Part of the challenge is that they are a hard-to-reach group who are reluctant to seek help. This leads to unnecessary delays in addressing operationally attributable mental health issues, often left until they are in crisis. To remedy this, veteran-friendly accredited general practices and military charities can work with nurses to support the mental health and well-being of veterans. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Massage therapy has recognised psychological benefits, yet it is rarely used in forensic mental health settings. In 2022, ten-minute sessions of seated chair massage – where recipients remain fully clothed – were offered to patients and staff at a secure forensic mental health and learning disability service in the UK. This article is a service evaluation of the impact of providing these sessions. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
There is a paucity of research on mental health nursing students’ experiences of witnessing physical restraint in practice, despite the fact that they spend half of their time in clinical placements. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Personality disorder is a contentious diagnostic label that is associated with high levels of stigma, leading many practitioners and people with lived experience to call for a change in its use. Mental health nurses frequently encounter people who have received a diagnosis of personality disorder in various settings. This article provides a critique of this diagnosis and discusses the issues that are associated with this label. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
The authors concluded that the meta-analysis: 'revealed small to moderate positive effects of resilience training on resilience and other mental health outcomes immediately post-intervention (resilience, wellbeing) and in the short-term (anxiety symptoms, [perceived] stress), while there was a lack of evidence for training effects on depressive symptoms or any outcome at later follow-ups.'
In part two of her two-part series on mental health, Sarah Palmer sign-posts community nurses towards relevant services, in cases where they may come across a patient with mental health issues. Furthermore, a case for digitally enabled mental health care is made by the author, as this would let individuals receive help sooner.
This integrative review aims to explore existing literature regarding mental health service users' experiences of telehealth interventions facilitated through the COVID-19 pandemic, to determine the visibility of nursing involvement in the facilitation of telehealth interventions and to use these experiences to inform nursing practice.
Citizens identifying as Black and Minority Ethic (BAME) face barriers and disadvantage across many areas of life, including housing, employment, and education. In the context of mental health, considerable research highlights the overrepresentation of people from BAME backgrounds in inpatient mental health services, with a recent international meta-analysis finding that BAME and migrant groups are at far greater risk of being detained under mental health legislation than any other ethnic group (Barnett et al., 2019).
While clinical reflection has been an essential aspect of nursing practice for many years, some nurses may still find it challenging to constructively engage with this process and may not recognise the benefits and learning that can result from it. This article provides practical guidance for nurses on how to undertake reflection, to support them to reflect regularly as part of their practice. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
• Reflection is a process of engaging with and learning from one’s thoughts, emotions and actions in a supportive and critical manner.
• Reflection can assist nurses to learn from practice, support team working and promote self-care.
• Nurses can reflect alone or with others, and there are various structured models of reflection that they can use to support them.
This article describes several leadership models which all have something to offer to nurses looking to develop their ward leadership skills. It discusses core elements of effective ward leadership, notably providing support and direction to the team through coaching and mentoring, developing the ward as a learning environment, understanding the wider care context and taking time for self-care. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
In conclusion, the study suggests that most patients and staff do not believe that body-worn cameras will achieve their aim of preventing violence and aggression. They perceive violence and aggression to have complex underlying causes, including unmet needs in the immediate as well as the wider context. Indeed, there is a risk that body-worn cameras will “mask structural issues” (p.19) and “exacerbate epistemic injustice” rather than prevent violence and aggression.
Suicide is a leading cause of death for children and young people and its prevention is a global priority. Many Mental Health Services employ safety planning as a brief intervention. There is some evidence of safety planning effectiveness for adults, but little is known about its effectiveness with young people.