At 6 months post intervention, HbA was reduced in both intervention groups with a greater reduction noted in the nurse-led education intervention.

The mental health nursing profession needs to examine carefully its socially mandated role as guardians of those who pose a risk to others to ensure that its practice represents its espoused therapeutic responsibilities.

This paper describes psychiatric mental health nurses' (PMHN) experiences of patient assaults within mental healthcare settings using a thematic analytical approach. The aim of the study was to explore and describe psychiatric mental health nurses' experiences of patient assaults. The major findings of the study related to the nature and impact of assaults and supportive strategies associated with violence perpetrated by patients against psychiatric mental health nurses. Perpetrator risk factors for patients include mental health disorders, alcohol and drug use and the inability to deal with situational crises. The injuries sustained by nurses in the context of the study include lacerations, head injuries, dislocations and bruises. Psychological harm has also occurred, including quite severe mental health problems, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Protective strategies for combating negative consequences of workplace violence include practice of self-defence, social support and a supportive and consultative workplace culture with access to counselling services and assistance in all aspects, including finances. The paper concludes that while healthcare employers need to provide better support services to the healthcare professionals who are assaulted, the legal system also needs to acknowledge that assaults against nurses are a violation of human rights and violence should not to be tolerated as part of working in mental healthcare settings.

There are problems for mental health nurses in using psychiatric diagnoses as outcomes of their nursing assessments and nursing diagnoses present similar issues. However, there is a need in practice to link the assessment to nursing interventions in a meaningful way. This paper proposes that the clinical formulation can be regarded as central to providing this cohesion. The formulation does not merely organize the assessment findings but is also an interpretation or explanation, made in consultation with the client, of what meaning can be attributed to the issues explored in the assessment process. Because this interpretation is dependent on both the client's and the nurse's explanatory frameworks, there are multiple ways of developing the formulation. It is also an evolving and dynamic statement of understanding. A case example is provided in the paper to illustrate how the same case can be interpreted in different ways and the implications this has for the nursing interventions provided.

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