Transition to psychiatric/mental health nursing programs: Expectations and practical considerations.

Full Abstract

Mental health services have developed transition programs to attract staff, including new graduates, staff with mental health nursing experience without formal qualifications, experienced nurses wishing to move into mental health, and nurses returning to the workforce. Transition to psychiatric/mental health programs are considered to be particularly significant in the mental health field because of the relative under-representation of mental health content in undergraduate curricula. Unfortunately, transition programs have received only minor attention in the literature and there is a paucity of published evaluations to determine their effectiveness. The aim of this paper is to examine transition programs and consider how they meet the expectations of stakeholders, such as consumers of mental health services, and program participants' expectations. It is concluded that published systematic evaluations are lacking, particularly those considered from the perspective of stakeholders. Consideration of these expectations should be reflected in the design and delivery of mental health nursing transition programs.

Author information

Author/s: Cleary, Michelle (M); Horsfall, Jan (J); Happell, Brenda (B);

Affiliation: Research Unit, Concord Centre for Mental Health, Sydney South West Area Mental Health Service, Concord, NSW 2139, Australia. michelle.cleary(-atsign-)email.cs.nsw.gov.au

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Review

Journal: International journal of mental health nursing (Int J Ment Health Nurs), published in Australia. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Aug; vol 18 (issue 4) : pp 265-73

Dates: Created 2009/07/14; Completed 2009/10/26;

PMID: 19594646, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 10/26/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.