The concept of emotional intelligence has grown in popularity over the last two decades, generating interest both at a social and a professional level. Concurrent developments in nursing relate to the recognition of the impact of self-awareness and reflexive practice on the quality of the patient experience and the drive toward evidence-based patient centred models of care. The move of nurse training into higher education heralded many changes and indeed challenges for the profession as a whole. Traditionally, nurse education has been viewed as an essentialist education, the main emphasis being on fitness for practice and the statutory competencies. However, the transfer into the academy confronts the very notion of what constitutes this fitness for practice. Many curricula now make reference in some way to the notion of an emotionally intelligent practitioner, one for whom theory, practice and research are inextricably bound up with tacit and experiential knowledge. In this paper we argue that much of what is described within curriculum documentation is little more than rhetoric when the surface is scratched. Further, we propose that some educationalists and practitioners have embraced the concept of emotional intelligence uncritically, and without fully grasping the entirety of its meaning and application. We attempt to make explicit the manner in which emotional intelligence can be more realistically and appropriately integrated into the profession and conclude by suggesting a model of transformatory learning for nurse education.

Recovery is not a new concept within mental health, although in recent times, it has come to the forefront of the policy agenda. However, there is no universal definition of recovery, and it is a contested concept. The aim of this study was to examine the British literature relating to recovery in mental health. Three contributing groups are identified: service users, health care providers and policy makers. A review of the literature was conducted by accessing all relevant published texts. A search was conducted using these terms: 'recovery', 'schizophrenia', 'psychosis', 'mental illness' and 'mental health'. Over 170 papers were reviewed. A thematic analysis was conducted. Six main themes emerged, which were examined from the perspective of the stakeholder groups. The dominant themes were identity, the service provision agenda, the social domain, power and control, hope and optimism, risk and responsibility. Consensus was found around the belief that good quality care should be made available to service users to promote recovery both as inpatient or in the community. However, the manner in which recovery was defined and delivered differed between the groups.

This paper explores mental health nurse educators' perceptions of the involvement of service users in preregistration nurse education. The idea for the study was developed from a local group of people including service users, lecturers and students committed to finding ways to develop service user involvement in education. This qualitative study uses semi-structured interviews to explore participants' perceptions in depth. Five lecturers who teach on the diploma programme based at a large teaching hospital were interviewed. The results suggest that the current situation of involving service users at the research site was ineffective. The concepts of 'role' and power relationships were used to explore the reasons for this. The development of service user involvement in education is complex and requires further research.

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