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Schizophrenia is commonly treated with antipsychotics. This article presents a major overview of prescribing antipsychotic for the non-medical prescriber. The prescribing of first- and second generation antipsychotics is considered together with the formulation and side effects. Both the evidence-base for prescribing, and the pharmacology are considered with particular reference to side effects and patient choice.

Objectives: This paper is a review of the effectiveness of interventions aimed at understanding the content and meaning of the experience of voice hearing, also known as auditory verbal hallucinations, in the context of mental health nursing practice.\ud \ud Background: The current literature around voice hearing reveals weaknesses in the traditional\ud psychiatric understanding of voice hearing as a symptom of underlying biological illness.\ud \ud Methods: A narrative review of the literature is synthesised from the findings acquired through search of electronic databases, combined with additional manual searching.\ud \ud Findings: Five papers meeting the inclusion criteria were selected. Following critical analysis, six themes emerged consisting of three insights (experience of voice hearing, meaning, personal significance) leading to three therapeutic outcomes (relationship\ud with the voices, emotional impact, and functioning).\ud \ud Conclusions: Exploring the content and meaning of the voices may be a valuable intervention voice hearers could choose, however there are\ud potential adverse effects that need careful consideration and management. The implications for incorporating the approach into evidence-based mental health nursing practice are discussed

The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of barriers to safe administration of medicines in mental health settings. A cross-sectional survey was used, and 70 mental health nurses and 41 students were recruited from a mental health trust and a university in Yorkshire, UK. Respondents completed a questionnaire comprising closed- and open-response questions. One item, which contained seven sub-items, addressed barriers to safe administration of medication. Seven themes—five nurse- and prescriber-focused and two service user-focused—were abstracted from the data, depicting a range of barriers to safe administration of medicines. Nurse- and prescriber-focused themes included environmental distractions, insufficient pharmacological knowledge, poorly written and incomplete medication documentation, inability to calculate medication dosage correctly, and work-related pressure. Service user-focused themes comprised poor adherence to medication regimens, and cultural and linguistic communication barriers with service users. Tackling medication administration error is predominantly an organizational rather than individual practitioner responsibility.

As the prevalence of mental illness increases globally, Australia and the United Kingdom (UK) share concerns regarding the recruitment and retention of nurses to the field of mental health care. The level of preparedness of nurses is thought to have a bearing on recruitment and retention in mental health nursing practice. This study sought to uncover what Australian and UK undergraduate students perceived as motivational in choosing a career in, and being prepared for, working in mental health settings. \ud METHOD \ud This study employed mixed methods, using a questionnaire comprising of both quantitative and qualitative questions. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS (V.16.0) and content analysis was undertaken for analysing the qualitative data.\ud FINDINGS \ud Following ethical approval, data was collected from, four universities in Australia and two in the UK. A total of 447 undergraduate nursing and midwifery students, who had completed a mental health placement, completed the questionnaire. Findings revealed that motivational factors influencing their interest in mental health nursing were clinical experience (49.7%), personal/life experiences (42.9%) and the role of the lecturer (23%). However, 47.7% of all participants had some previous experience of mental illness, with only 18.4% having had work experience in the field prior to starting their course.\ud IMPLICATIONS This study adds to extant knowledge of what encourages people to choose a career trajectory in mental health nursing and what could be harnessed with regard to retention. The knowledge gained from these findings is useful in informing recruitment processes and can also inform curriculum.

Nurses on registration are expected to have sufficient knowledge and\ud skills in medicine management to practice safely and competently.\ud This article reports on research involving midwifery and nursing\ud students, who were asked to complete a questionnaire related to\ud their experiences of medicines-related training and education, and\ud how it prepared them for practice. The results showed an overall\ud satisfaction with the pre-registration delivery, but differences\ud emerged in the perceived efficacy of different educational strategies.\ud Clinically‑based and simulated aspects of the programme delivery\ud were highly rated, with theoretical delivery scoring poorly in\ud contrast. A stepped approach is suggested, with medicine course\ud delivery needing to be strongly highlighted as a lead up to safe and\ud competent nursing interventions when administering medication\ud and all other related interventions. A grant from the innovation fund\ud at the University of Huddersfield funded an evaluation of students’\ud experiences of medicines management education and training using\ud a self‑administered questionnaire.