It takes it out of the textbook: Benefits of and barriers to expert by experience involvement in pre‐registration mental health nursing education
Authors: Happell Brenda , Gordon Sarah , Hurley John , Foster Kim , Hazelton Mike , Lakeman Richard , Moxham Lorna , Warner Terri 
Published: March 2024

Accessible summary

What Is Known on the Subject?

Service user involvement in mental health nursing education is beneficial in terms of attitudinal change to reduce stigma, clinical skill development and enhancing understandings of recovery‐oriented practice.

Service users as experts by experience have not been embedded within pre‐registration nursing programs. Consequently, they remain limited in number, ad hoc and frequently tokenistic.

Nurse academics responsible for the design and delivery of pre‐registration mental health nursing curricula have a potentially important role in facilitating expert by experience involvement in mental health nursing education.

What this Paper Adds to Existing Knowledge

Nurse academics teaching mental health nursing have generally favourable views about the importance of expert by experience involvement.

Nurse academics experience significant barriers in supporting the implementation of academic positions for experts by experience, particularly in obtaining funding.

The experts by experience could contribute to mental health nursing education does not appear to be clearly understood by nurse academics.

What Are the Implications for Practice?

Mental health services aspire to adopt a recovery‐oriented approach to practice. Involving experts by experience in mental health nursing education can facilitate increased understanding and appreciation of recovery‐oriented practice.

Nurse academics could play an important role in supporting the implementation of experts by experience positions in nursing academia. To do so, they require an understanding of the benefits of EBE involvement in academia and the barriers that can be encountered when attempting to facilitate the implementation of such positions.

Experts by experience contribute unique expertise, essential to the development of quality mental health services. Conveying this expertise through the educating the future nursing workforce in mental health is essential.

Introduction

Involving service users in mental health nursing education is ad hoc and minimal, despite growing evidence of its benefits. Insights and experiences of nurse academics teaching mental health to pre‐registration students have been underrepresented in the research to date.

Aim

To seek insights and experiences of nurse academics involved in designing and delivering pre‐registration mental health nursing education in Australian universities regarding involving service users in mental health nursing education.

Methods

A descriptive qualitative study involving 19 nurse academics from 13 Australian universities, involved in pre‐registration mental health nursing education. Data were analysed thematically.

Results

Participants reported minimal service user involvement. Most sought an increase and identified barriers. Data analysis resulted in five identified themes: (1) value‐rich, (2) resource‐poor, (3) imperfect processes, (4) ‘part, but not all’ and (5) unrecognised worth.

Conclusions

Increasing meaningful involvement of service‐users in mental health nursing education requires support and investment from multiple stakeholders. Nurse academics are crucial stakeholders in understanding the unique expertise service users bring.

Implications for Practice

Service users being central to all aspects of mental health services requires their active participation in the education of health professionals. Nurse academics have an important role in realising this goal.