Professional mental health nursing bodies : issues relevant to leadership within and beyond

Positive patient-focused mental health reforms do not happen by chance, but can be attributed to the hard work of inspirational, dedicated and motivated professionals who display cross-discipline leadership skills and behaviors; and advocate assertively for changes to improve client care and treatment. Workplace changes for improved personalized outcomes for clients of mental health services can arise with in any relevant sector - including the community, targeted public housing priorities, employment preparation programs, welfare legislation, restructured service provision, clinical innovations, mental health policy changes and client lead strategies such as self-help groups. Better working conditions for nurses can make a contribution co improved client outcomes by enabling mental health nurses to spend more meaningful time with patients, freeing them up to work in more appropriately therapeutic ways, and having less of a focus on bureaucratically determined outcomes that might have little positive impact on patient wellbeing. Potentially therefore, mental health nursing professional organizations can contribute both to improve the care of clients and families, and better the working conditions for nurses.