ACMHN's 37th International Mental Health Nursing Conference
Swimming between the flags?
4-7 October 2011, Marriott Resort and Spa, Gold Coast
Ever wondered who decides where the flags should be positioned? Ever contemplated the safety of swimming just outside the flags? Ever decided to swim at the other end of the beach and ignore the flags altogether? Ever seen a rip swirling in close, creating havoc in seemingly safe waters?
The imagery of the beach speaks to so much of what we love about Australia. It also provides a rich metaphor for our role as mental health nurses. The theme of this conference, "Mental Health Nurses: Swimming between the flags?" gave participants an opportunity to contemplate and discover how mental health nurses from around the world are interpreting and responding to changing conditions in education, practice, research and management.
Mental health nurses are increasingly pushing the boundaries of their traditional scope of practice. Regardless of your role or the context in which practice, you will be challenged to respond to changing conditions in line with a changing world. As lifesavers, sitting on the beach amidst the sandcastles and cricket matches, with the binoculars trained on choppy waters watching for trouble - how do you prepare yourself to respond to the shifting ‘flags’ in the broader field of mental health care? As a profession, how do we support people when rips and dumpers develop between the flags?
Keynote speakers
Dr Rufus May - Clinical Psychologist, Bradford District Care Trust's assertive outreach team and Honorary Research Fellow with the centre for community citizenship and mental health at University of Bradford
Sandy Jeffs - Has lived with schizophrenia and all its moods for over thirty years. She is a community educator who speaks to schools, universities and community groups and received an Australian Human Rights Commission commendation for her book Flying with Paper Wings
Debra Nizette – Mental Health Nursing Advisor, Office of the Chief Nursing Officer, Queensland Health.
Prof Dianne Wynaden - Mental Health Professor at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Curtin University of Technology
Ass/Prof Jane Burns - Executive Director, Co-operative Research Centre for Young People, Technology and Wellbeing - Orygen Youth Health Research Centre
Nick Bowles - Associate Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing at Institute of Technology, Tralee, Registered Mental Health Nurse, Academic, Clinician, Manager, Trainer and Researcher
Grant Blashki - Associate Professor at the Nossal Institute for Global Health
Program
Click here to see the exciting program from 2011.
Highlights
 Mental Health Nurse of the YearThe Board of Directors of the ACMHN congratulates Jon Chesterson from Newcastle for winning the Mental Health Nurse of the Year Award for 2011. The award recognises Jon’s dedication to the rights and needs of people with mental illness. Jon is an experienced Mental Health Nurse who has shown commitment to professional leadership in several areas, most notably community service. He has also contributed significantly to the development of skilled MHNs. |  Mental Health Nurse Achieve. AwardThe Board of Directors of the ACMHN also congratulates Timothy Wand for winning the ACMHN Mental Health Nurse Achievement Award, co-sponsored by Curtin University. Tim is a Nurse Practitioner at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Clinical Senior Lecturer with the Sydney Nursing School at the University of Sydney and was one of the first nurses in Australia to become a Nurse Practitioner. |  Partnerships in WellbeingThe Women’s Wellbeing Group at St John of God Mental Health Service in Warrnambool were awarded the major Partnerships in Wellbeing Award for 2011, worth $6,000. The Women’s Wellbeing Group was developed in May 2011 with a goal of promoting social inclusion and encouraging a healthy lifestyle in women who have become socially isolated due to their mental illness. |
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Other Award Winners
Several other awards were presented at the Conference:
Research Award winners
Kim Foster, Andrea McCloughen & Cynthia Delgado
What is known about the physical health and wellbeing of emerging adults with mental illness?
Research Award runners-up
Matt Dilges
Integrating theoretical concepts to practice for intervening with systems and children impacted on by trauma
Etty Matalon & Ursula Perry
Quitting Cannabis 1-6
Stan Alchin Award winner
Margaret Sullivan
Drowning not waving! Identifying stress and trauma during pregnancy and the early years. Lifesavers in adult mental health settings
Stan Alchin Award runners-up
Derrith Harris
Working with people who kill
Shannon Asa
Learning to swim between your own flags: Assisting young people with a disability to make ethical judgements and develop healthy sexuality
Poster award winner
Briony Holdsworth
Northern Territory Mental Health Service restructure, the crisis and assessment triage team and adolescents
Oration
Click here to download a copy of Peter Santangelo's oration from the 2011 Conference.
Photos
The Committee
Kim Ryan
Peta Marks
Christine Palmer
Ben McKinnon
Deb Nizette
Brenda Happell
Valerie Porter
Sue Wentworth
Russell Williamson
Helen Jones
Cecily Pollard
Shelley McGorum
Margaret McAllister
Lorna Moxham
Sponsors and Exhibitors
