Postgraduate Mental Health Nursing

This video features teachers and students talking to camera about teaching, learning and career outcomes for the Graduate Diploma in Mental Health. Upbeat music plays throughout.

Duration: 3:01.

[Opening title]
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[Associate Professor Phil Maude, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences] To work in mental health and become a credentialed mental health nurse with the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses they need to have a Graduate Diploma in Mental Health Nursing.

So it’s a fourth year of specialisation.

[Martin Davey, Graduate Diploma in Mental Health Nursing] I chose to study for a number of reasons.

One, I met some my nursing colleagues who’ve done the course and they spoke highly of it.

Secondly, that for me to progress in my career I need a tertiary qualification which this provided.

[Adrienne Lipscomb, Clinical Nurse Educator, Forensicare] Mental health nursing is a specialised field of nursing, so as such it does require specialised skills.

It’s really important to have that up-to-date, contemporary and evidence-based knowledge to provide the best care for our consumers.

[Adam Searby] The program was very much focussed on psychotherapy approaches.

There are programs out there that are really technical and talk a lot about medication and technical things, but this was focussed on solid skills in mental health nursing.

Skills to be able to talk to people in a therapeutic way.

[Associate Professor Phil Maude] I think people come into the program because they’ve got a passion in mental health.

They’ve often got an idea of where they want to be in their career and it helps them move through those steps into their career.

[Rebecca Lofts, Clinical Nurse Educator, Forensicare ]Nurses who study the Graduate Diploma of Mental Health Nursing provide a range of benefits for Forensicare.

Their study enables them to apply what they’ve learned into clinical practice which assists with them gaining a deeper understanding of the work that we do.

[Adam Searby] It was very much based on, relevant to what I was doing.

The way it was delivered it was very flexible.

So the lectures were recorded or I could choose to come to Bundoora.

There was always options. If work was busy I could always catch up on lectures online.

[Associate Professor Phil Maude] The program is aimed at people currently working in mental health.

The assessment is linked with the clinical work that they do.

And all of the discussions we have in the discussion groups are about actual practice that they’re doing.

[Rebecca Lofts] By the time they have finished and completed their studies our nurses are highly qualified in professional skills and knowledge which enables and supports them to be an effective contributor to the team, to the patient and to Forensicare’s clinical outcomes.

[Adrienne Lipscomb] It helps nurses in general feel more confident in their abilities to do their job in the best way possible.

[Adam Searby] It’s a great program and it fits in well with what you’re doing.

It’s very flexible and I think it just gives you a lot of skills.

[Martin Davey] It already makes my job better.  I think I’ve embraced professionalism to a greater degree and I also hope to probably further my studies in the future.

[Associate Professor Phil Maude] For many people it helps you to consolidate yourself as a specialist mental health nurse and there’s lots of opportunities out there in mental health right across the country and internationally as well.

And having a program where you can go out to industry and they say, “yeah, that’s what we want”, that’s very, very important.

[Closing title]
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This video features the song A Sparkling Journey available under a royalty free licence.
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