Mental health nurses' views of doctors

Love them or loathe them, doctors continue to exert a strong influence on the nursing profession. Some research into the relationships between general nurses and doctors has been carried out, but much less has been undertaken in the field of mental health. The author completed a survey of nursing staff in one psychiatric hospital, specifically aiming to discover their awareness of junior doctors' on-call activities and re-imbursements, and their views on doctors' attitudes in general. The results suggest a perhaps more positive perspective than may have been guessed, but continued ignorance of the characteristics of being 'on-call' was evident.