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