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It is now well-established that Australia has a significant issue with methamphetamine. Recent dramatic changes in manufacturing have led to significant shifts in both the patterns of use and the relative purity of this illicit drug, with the crystalline form of methamphetamine commonly referred to as 'ice'. Excessive use not only impacts on those taking the drug, but also takes a heavy toll on their families. With few effective treatment options currently available, there is a strong focus on developing replacement pharmacotherapies and examining the efficacy of outpatient counselling and residential treatment options. Recent research in addiction care supports the positive impact that families of users can have on both treatment and recovery for their loved ones. Despite this recognition, there is little current research looking at the experiences of families of users of the uniquely problematic drug methamphetamine. This paper outlines the historical narrative that has led to the current worldwide phenomenon of ice use and explores contemporary directions of research into its impact and potential treatments. In doing so, it outlines the relatively unexplored impact of ice on families and highlights a current need for nursing research into their experiences living with loved ones using the drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present position paper provides an account of the life of Martha Entwistle, the earliest recorded convict nurse who worked within the Castle Hill Asylum. In our review of primary historical sources, Australia's first convict mental health nurse was found to be a resilient woman who endured several traumatic life experiences. Her nursing within Australia's first mental health asylum was highly valued by the superintendent of the service. She nursed in a harsh colonial environment, short of adequate resources, during an era of fast‐paced industrial and technological a change. Martha Entwistle's experiences provide a historical account of the role of the early convict mental health nurse. Her life story enables modern‐day nurses to reflect on the advances made in mental health nursing and contexts of care for nurses today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Over the past approximately 25 years, Australia has undergone significant changes in the educational preparation of nurses. Australia has moved away from specialization in areas, such as mental health nursing at undergraduate level, in favour of a comprehensive model, an approach that remains controversial. The aim of this paper is to identify and critique the three main arguments advanced in support of comprehensive nursing education, which we argue are not supported by existing evidence. The purported wide skill and knowledge base does not appear to have brought about identifiable improvements in consumer outcomes. The evidence regarding stigma suggests comprehensive nursing education has not impacted favourably on nurses' attitudes towards working with people with mental health problems. There is no evidence to support the notion that graduates will be able to better deal with and meet the physiological needs of those people diagnosed with mental illness. From the arguments articulated in this paper, we conclude that comprehensive nursing education has not met its promises or expectations, and as a result, specialist entry-level preparation for nurses ought to be reintroduced as a matter of urgency in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Mental health nursing education in Australia has undergone a significant transition in the last 50 years, influenced by national inquiries, national decisions, and international trends in nursing education. But mental health nursing education had also accumulated decades of history in each state, including sometimes unequal relations with general nursing. Complex inter- and intra-professional relationships at state level influenced this educational transition in each state, and Western Australia provides an example of this influence. Using a range of published and unpublished sources, including oral histories, this paper describes the revision of the mental health nursing curriculum in Western Australia from 1958, responses to the call for transition to the tertiary sector between 1976 and 1984, and the final transition of mental health nursing education to university level in Western Australia in 1994. Mental health nursing's educational standards improved only gradually in Western Australia from 1958 onwards, compared with professional advances in general nursing in the same period. Factors which may have held back these improvements include mental health nursing's professional conservatism, which was outpaced by general nursing's growing radicalization at the national level. A lack of professional confidence and cohesion left mental health nursing unable to respond effectively to rapid external changes in the 1960s and 1970s, and vulnerable to absorption and dominance by general nursing education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding mental health nursing's past is an important way to preserve our cultural heritage. By exploring and then disseminating the insights gained through examination of the past, students and practicing mental health nurses may become more aware of the social and intellectual origins of the profession. They may also have their professional connections and commitment to mental health nursing clarified and reconfirmed. This paper presents the results of a survey conducted in Queensland in 2009. Members of the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses were invited to identify mental health nurses who they perceived had made a noteworthy contribution to the profession. Twenty mental health nurses were identified from the 38 surveys received. The reasons underlying the nominations revealed two main themes: achievements and qualities. Achievements included the subthemes: practice pioneer; career longevity; and far reach of influence. Qualities included: inspirational role model; and passion, dedication and/or commitment. The study provides a beginning conversation on the preservation of heritage and recommends deeper exploration of the history of mental health nursing within Australia, and specifically Queensland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will develop a discussion related to evidence-based knowledge for mental health nursing, arguing for a historical component to be included in the comprehensive degree programme that will offer significant insights into mental health nursing knowledge from historical information and constructing implications for contemporary practice. Our understanding of the present is clearer by this looking back and forth and by adding meaning (and what the meanings mean) to what historically preceded. It allows the history of psychiatry to be a much more productive, useful, and a continual source of wisdom for the here and now. This blending of past knowledge with contemporary inquiry can offer depth in mental health nursing practices by forming a context for practice for the beginning nurse practitioner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]