As mental health nursing roles expand, is education expanding mental health nurses? an emotionally intelligent view towards preparation for psychological therapies and relatedness

Abstract

Mental health nurses (MHN) in the UK currently occupy a challenging position. This positioning is one that offers a view of expanding roles and responsibilities in both mental health act legislation and the delivery of psychological therapies, while simultaneously generic pre-registration training is being considered. Clearly, the view from this position, although not without challenge and internal discipline dispute, can also offer growing professional prestige, influence and respect from other health disciplines, as well as the wider public. Conversely, if the training, education and strategic enactment for new MHN roles is formulated and delivered from predominantly non-MHN axiomatic and epistemological stances, MHN identity can be seriously and potentially permanently diminished. This paper offers the construct of emotional intelligence as a framework to respond to these future challenges through making individual MHN enablement a primacy. This enablement of MHNs through enhanced emotional intelligence competencies is argued as requiring priority over the standard approach of enhancing strategies alone.

Emotional intelligence of mental health nurses

“…However, emotional intelligence is not a static feature of nurses; it can be developed and trained over time (Bar‐On 1997). Evans and Allen (2002), Freshwater and Stickley (2004) and Hurley and Rankin (2008) support this by stating that integrating emotional intelligence into nursing education provides nurses with a greater opportunity to understand themselves and the way where they develop relationships with others. These studies imply that although mental health nurses may have high EQ levels in and of themselves, that trait should not be taken for granted.…”

“…Mental health care practice needs nurses and social workers who are capable of establishing meaningful nurse–patient relationships (Akerjordet & Severinsson 2004, Megens & van Meijel 2006, Edward & Warelow 2007, Hurley & Rankin 2008). However, the specific problems and behaviours of psychiatric patients, such as depression, anxiety, delusions, aggression, resistance, suicide, self‐harm and mistrust, can cause severe emotional stress for nurses, who may even experience burnout when they must deal too often with feelings of anger, pity, fear, irritation and impatience.…”

The overall impact of emotional intelligence on nursing students and nursing

“…[28] Hurley and Rankin advocated the use of experiential and cognitive learning as a direct means of introducing EI into an already crowded nursing curriculum. [29] Hurley further argued that in the UK and Australia, the generic 3-year nursing program is inadequate for training mental health nurses and that new learning outcomes with EI at the core of nursing curricula is both needed and warranted. [30] Both undergraduate and graduate business curricula benefit from EI for the teaching of effective collaboration, adaptability, and critical thinking.…”

Emotional intelligence: enhancing values‐based practice and compassionate care in nursing

“…). Hurley and Rankin () argue that pre‐registration undergraduate nursing programmes can better equip practitioners to meet the individual and person‐centred needs of service users and their families by adopting emotionally intelligent strategies in their teaching and learning models.…”