Preparing nurses for the challenge of the new focus on community mental health nursing

Canada has endorsed the concept of primary health care and the need to increase community-based mental health care. Mental health nurses in Canada have been reluctant to adopt a primary health care model. Canadian nursing education programs, to this point, have not prepared nurses adequately for this change. In response to these issues, a Community Mental Health Nursing course, based on Canadian health care principles, was developed and implemented for practicing registered nurses enrolled in the BScN program (Post-RN) at the University of Ottawa, Canada. Feedback elicited from students and clinical preceptors has been positive.