Perceived training needs of nurses working with mentally ill patients

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Mental Health
• Healthcare Education

Background:

• Nurses are vital to Malaysia's mental health teams.
• Current mental health training leads to suboptimal care delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore perceived competence in mental healthcare among nurses.
• To identify training needs for nurses working with mentally ill patients in inpatient facilities.

Main Methods:

• A structured questionnaire was completed by 220 registered nurses and medical assistants.
• Participants worked with mentally ill patients in inpatient mental healthcare settings.

Main Results:

• Perceived importance of mental health skills varied among nurses.
• Post-basic mental health training correlated with improved competence in patient assessment (p=0.036), suicide risk assessment (p=0.024), violence risk assessment (p=0.044), and self-harm risk assessment (p=0.013).

Conclusions:

• Current post-basic mental health training in Malaysia places minimal emphasis on psychosocial skills.
• There is a need to enhance mental health training for nurses to improve patient care.