Master of Mental Health Nursing

La Trobe University

If you're a registered nurse looking to progress your career, La Trobe's fully online Master of Mental Health Nursing expands your knowledge and skills in providing recovery-based care for consumers with mental health conditions. Developed in collaboration with Mental Health Clinical Services, you'll learn how to provide evidence-based mental health care in a range of health settings and build the specialised skills to work with groups ranging from children to the elderly, and in areas such as addiction, eating disorders, depression and anxiety.You'll learn:Therapeutic skillsLearn how to make high level, independent clinical decisions and build the communication and interpersonal skills required for therapeutic interventions.Comprehensive mental health assessmentDevelop comprehensive assessment and management skills and recognise the interrelationship between a person's medical, social, and psychological health.Mental health diagnosisCritically examine psychopathology, mental health diagnosis and associated co-morbidities and enhance your ability to effectively assess and diagnose mental illness.Experiences and perceptions of mental illnessExplore the complexities that exercising choice and control poses for people with mental illness and build your expertise in areas such as supported decision making and recovery orientated practice.Students will need to have satisfactory computer skills in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and online meeting programs such as Zoom. These platforms will be used throughout the course and in assessment tasks.Master of Mental Health Nursing intended learning outcomesAnalyse critically and apply advanced knowledge and skills to complex clinical nursing practice in mental health careCritically reflect and select clinical assessments for specialist nursing mental health careSynthesise complex information to inform clinical reasoning and enable complex problem solving skill in practiceLocate and use evidence-based models of care and critically appraising and applying strategies that meet the needs of mental health consumersDevelop and critically analyse advanced nursing plans that support therapeutic relationships with mental health consumers and their families and carers, using co-constructive care and collaborative engagementCritically reflect on communication effectiveness and appropriateness with colleagues, people accessing mental health services and the public in both professional and social contexts in accordance with professional ethical standardsCritically reflect and practice via professional person centred care and advocacy independently as a team leader or team member in mental health settings in accordance with professional ethical standardsCritically reflect on effective learning strategies that are responsive to specialised practiceMaster of Mental Health Nursing career opportunitiesGraduates may find employment in a variety of roles including:Mental health nurseWork closely with individuals experiencing mental ill health to promote their wellbeing, recovery, and inclusion within the community.Clinical nurse managerLead, guide, and support nursing teams responsible for general, mental health and addiction services.Clinical nurse specialistprovide care and support to consumers and their families, transcribe doctor's orders, review charts, and administer medications or treatments.Community mental health nurseOversee the delivery of care, conducting of assessments and development of care coordination plans for consumers in local or regional communities.

School of Nursing and Midwifery