title: Changing attitudes: the role of a consumer academic in the education of postgraduate psychiatric nursing students.
abstract: Consumer participation in health care is increasingly becoming an expectation within mental health services. Consumer involvement in the education of mental health professionals, including nurses is considered crucial to achieving this aim. This article describes the impact of a mental health consumer academic on the attitudes of postgraduate psychiatric nursing students towards consumer participation. A questionnaire was administered to students before (n = 25) and following (n = 19) exposure to the teaching of the consumer academic. Comparison of results suggests that support for consumer participation increases after exposure to the consumer academic reinforcing the value of mental health consumers in psychiatric nursing education.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Psychiatric Nursing Research and Practice, School of Postgraduate Nursing, University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia. b.happell@nursing.unimelb.edu.au
authors.forename: Brenda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Happell
authors.forename: Jaya
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pinikahana
authors.forename: Cath
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roper
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D001315:Australia; D003256:Community Participation; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing / Q000193:education*; D013338:Students, Nursing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires