The potential for consultant nurse roles to enhance patient care is tremendous. This study provides initial indicators, which the practitioners involved, can use to plot future developments and changes to their roles.
This study sought to address one of the most critical issues that mental health professionals endure in modern health care, namely stress at work. Though it has been discussed for some time in the literature relating to mental health services, it still remains one of the biggest impediments to the provision of high quality care. In this study, two groups of mental health nurses were compared: forensic and acute mental health nurses. Stress levels were ascertained using a standardised assessment tool, the Mental Health Professional Stress Scale (MHPSS). Though both groups reported high levels of stress, no significant differences were found between them. Though both groups perceived certain aspects of their work as being stressful, each group identified different causes for stress within their respective work environments. This paper discusses some of the implications of these findings and highlights the importance of protecting staff from unpropitious work environments and burn‐out.
A survey of the views of members of a forensic mental health team on the post of forensic nurse consultant was carried out by means of a questionnaire. All respondents were supportive of the development of the post and hoped that the consultant would be the ‘voice’ of nursing, a strong individual with the confidence and competence to challenge traditional interprofessional boundaries and to raise the profile of mental health nurses within the clinical team. Concerns, however, were expressed that the post might have too many facets and that the consultant could become a victim of elevated expectations, unable to meet all the demands. Respondents advised that in order to avoid consultant burnout, the role needs to be clearly defined, to retain a clinical focus and to provide time for continuing professional development. For postholders to be effective, it is essential that they are supported at all levels of the organisations in which they work.
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