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What keeps nurses busy in the mental health setting?
Author(s) -
Goulter N.,
Kavanagh D. J.,
Gardner G.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.69
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1365-2850
pISSN - 1351-0126
DOI - 10.1111/jpm.12173
Subject(s) - mental health , nursing , psychological intervention , health care , medicine , interpersonal communication , distancing , work (physics) , psychology , psychiatry , social psychology , mechanical engineering , disease , covid-19 , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , engineering , economics , economic growth
Accessible Summary Recent evidence suggests that the interactional work of mental health nursing has been eroded and redirected to the task‐based roles of medicine. This study utilized work sampling methodology to observe the proportion of time nurses working in a mental health setting spend in direct care, indirect care and service‐related activities. Nurses spent 32% of their time in direct care, 52% in indirect care and 17% in service‐related activities. Mental health nurses need to re‐establish their therapeutic availability to maximize consumer experiences and outcomes.Abstract The foundation of mental health nursing has historically been grounded in an interpersonal, person‐centred process of health care, yet recent evidence suggests that the interactional work of mental health nursing is being eroded. Literature emphasizes the importance of person‐centred care on consumer outcomes, a model reliant upon the intimate engagement of nurses and consumers. Yet, the arrival of medical interventions in psychiatry has diverted nursing work from the therapeutic nursing role to task‐based roles delegated by medicine, distancing nurses from consumers. This study used work sampling methodology to observe the proportion of time nurses working in an inpatient mental health setting spend in the activities of direct care, indirect care and service‐related activities. Nurses spent 32 of their time in direct care, 52% in indirect care and 17% in service‐related activities. Mental health nurses need to re‐establish their therapeutic availability to maximize consumer experiences and outcomes.