The development of generic statutory roles in mental health care has been the subject of discussion by New Zealand nurses for the past decade. One such role is that of second health professional in judicial reviews of civil commitment. Issues identified by New Zealand nurses have also been raised in England, where it seems that nurses are likely to assume the role of Approved Mental Health Worker under English mental health law. A survey of mental health nurses found that few had received any preparation for the role of second health professional and 45% did not feel adequately prepared for the role. Some of these issues are reflected in a New Zealand inquiry which resulted in the Ministry of Health developing a written report form for second health professionals. However, the form has the potential to reduce the mental health nursing role to a narrow legal role. Statutory roles such as that of second health professional challenge mental health nurses to critically reflect on the conceptual and ethical basis of their practice. While traditional concepts such as therapeutic relationships and advocacy need to be reviewed in light of these changes, nurses need to be vigilant in articulating the moral and clinical basis of their roles. The development of guidelines for he second health professional role is suggested as a way of supporting clinical practice in this area.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.