title: Perceptions from the front line: professional identity in mental health nursing.
abstract: In the context of a growing population of people experiencing mental illness worldwide, mental health nurses are a crucial workforce. Their recruitment and retention, however, is in decline. Drawing on qualitative data obtained from interviews with mental health nurses (MHN) in Victoria, Australia, the paper employs a range of concepts from role theory to explore professional identity within mental health nursing. The data highlight three key issues in relation to the future recruitment and retention of MHN: (i) the ambiguity of the MHN role; (ii) the weak definition and lack of understanding of the scope of the MHN role by nursing students; and (iii) a lack of communication about MHN as a profession to a wider audience. These findings indicate three avenues through which recruitment and retention in mental health nursing could be improved: (i) public communication; (ii) training and educating of the next generation of MHN; and (iii) more accurately defining the role of the MHN.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Gylo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hercelinskyj
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cruickshank
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Phillips
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D024802:Nurse's Role; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing; D036301:Qualitative Research; D014739:Victoria; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: identity; mental health nurse; qualitative; recruitment and retention; role