Bulletin

Issue: April 2006

News

La Trobe Improves Mental Health Nursing Training

La Trobe University’s Faculty of Health Sciences is enhancing its nurse training curriculum to upgrade its mental health component.

‘We have made changes to give students the opportunity to make an informed choice of psychiatric nursing as a career option,’ says Mr Alan Robins, a lecturer in Mental Health in the University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery.

A specialist in psychiatry, Mr Robins is engaged in research for his PhD thesis entitled The New Asylum – an examination of the most beneficial housing for persons with severe mental illness and substance abuse. The study examines the effects of deinstitutionalisation on persons suffering from severe mental illness.

Mr Robins said a number of changes had been implemented in La Trobe’s nursing degree course. These included doubling clinical placement time from two to four weeks and the appointment of a full time lecturer devoted to mental health.

In addition the Mental Health unit was shifted from second semester third year to second semester second year allowing students the opportunity of making an informed choice of psychiatry as a career option.

Specialist lectures from practising psychiatric nurse clinicians, consumer consultant, carer consultant, and industry bodies including the College of Mental Health Nurses, Health and Community Services Union and the Australian Nursing Federation were introduced.

Mr Robins has an extensive clinical background, having previously been employed in mental health areas in Aged, Adult, Child and Adolescent services as well as Alcohol and Drug agencies.

He said La Trobe has this year introduced a new elective unit called Community Psychiatric Nursing In Practice to continue strengthening the mental health stream in undergraduate training.