Progression of the mental health nurse practitioner role in Australia

Abstract

The guiding principle of health care is to serve the needs of the public. Healthcare services are therefore required to be increasingly flexible and open to new approaches to meet changing demands. They must also adjust and expand as new challenges are presented. Public awareness of mental health issues and the current demands placed on health services for access to affordable and appropriate mental health care have never been so great. The introduction of nurse practitioners (NPs) in Australia is a proud and long-anticipated moment for the discipline of nursing. However, a major challenge for the introduction of NPs in Australia will be to reassure medical colleagues, allied health professionals and the public that NPs are able to deliver high-quality primary care. This paper elaborates on the progress of the mental health NP role in Australia. Attention is centred on the characteristics the mental health NP role, the maintenance of professional competency to practise at an advanced clinical level, and the prospects and potential significance of NPs for mental health nursing practice. The nurse-led clinic, implemented through the process of consultation and systematic evaluation, is identified as an avenue for the extension of mental health NP practice in the delivery of autonomous primary care.

Exploring the mental health nurse practitioner scope of practice in youth early psychosis: An anecdotal account

“…The formulary for the mental health nurse practitioner youth early psychosis is based on evidence based best practice guidelines for pharmacotherapy in this cohort of young people. The duration of prescribing will be time limited as the aim of prescribing is to reduce acute agitation or distress of the young person, and ameliorate acute symptoms in Wand and White (2007) suggest that a rigorous and substantial research /investigation of the mode of service delivery is needed. The appointment of a nurse practitioner role within the clinical services provides a commitment from the organization to research within the role of the nurse practitioner, not only in promotion of the role and evaluation, but also in relevance to the advancement of nursing within the model of practice.…”

“…The study compared two interventions in young people at incipient risk of progression to fi rst-episode psychosis. The interventions involved a needsbased intervention which focused on presenting symptoms and problems already manifest providing supportive therapy and case management without antipsychotic medication; the second intervention involved the same as the needs-based mental health care and guarantee that consumers and carers' continue to experience the distinctive benefi ts of advanced mental health nursing practice (Wand & White 2007).…”

“…Despite a large number of nurse practitioners in Australia, little is known about the reality of the role from the perspective of the clinicians themselves. Most articles on the role of the mental health nurse practitioner emanate out of academia and are at best third hand accounts (Elsom, Happell, & Manias, 2005;Wand & White, 2007).…”

La pratique infirmière avancée : un choix qui s’impose pour la qualité des soins et services en santé mentale

“…L'infirmière praticienne en santé mentale prend des décisions complexes en regard des soins requis, prescrit des médicaments dans son domaine de spécialité, procède à des tests diagnostiques et oriente vers des spécialistes au besoin. Son approche est caractérisée par le focus propre aux soins infirmiers en santé mentale, c'est-à-dire la promotion de la santé mentale plutôt que o 1 le contrôle et la stabilisation du désordre psychiatrique (Wand et White, 2007).…”

An emergency department-based mental health nurse practitioner outpatient service: Part 2, staff evaluation

“…In Australia, the mental health nurse practitioner (MHNP) role, founded on the principles of mental health liaison nursing, has emerged as a means of providing enhanced access to mental health intervention for individuals presenting through the ED, and to support ED staff. The expanded autonomy of the MHNP role also provides the prospect of and added scope for the establishment of a primary care service (Wand & White 2007b).…”