Implications for practice and research

• Advocate for a comprehensive restructuring of mental health nursing curricula to incorporate robust content, theory and clinical hours, ensuring graduates are better prepared for effective practice.

• Conduct research on alternative education models, exploring the feasibility and effectiveness of double-degree programmes to enhance graduate preparedness and improve care quality.

Context

Despite the shift to comprehensive nursing education in the 1980s and 1990s, ongoing concerns persist regarding the graduates’ readiness for mental health practice. The study conducted by Lakeman and colleagues delves into the enduring challenge of effectively preparing nurses for mental health settings in Australia.1 A decline in mental health-specific content and clinical exposure, …