Psychiatry

Lehane, M. (Oct 26, 2005) Psychiatry: the career of choice: mental health services get an undeserved bad press, says Mike Lehane. He speaks up for a challenging and rewarding career.

Nursing Standard.: 34(2) 20-27 Health Reference Center Academic. Gale. Quincy College. 27 May 2008 http://find.galegroup.com/itx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=HRCA&docId=A138660301&source=gale&userGroupName=mlin_s_quincoll&version=1.0.

Mike Lehane provides a summary of the current public and professional attack of the psychiatric and psychiatric nursing profession and systems. The work retells a number of statements that attack psychiatry and psychiatric nursing calling the professions archaic and the system in which they function badly in a backward and overall bad system that does not meet the consumer need by fault of the profession itself. Lehane then goes on to state that these statements are falsehoods and that the majority of psychiatric care professionals and specifically psychiatric nurses are practicing within a never before seen community of caring that is both patient focused and highly flexible for both the patient and the nurse. Lehane argues that the modernity of the services offered are far greater than the system is given credit for and that patients and nurses have vast options for care and practice treatment. The article brings up an important point in that it is opinion based and essentially reactionary, taking comments out of context and applying them as intended insults to the field. The work stresses that positivism should be the standard rather than negative focus associated with a highly modern and evolving field that does often answer patients need, even in the most difficult of circumstances, associated with mental illness. The article does serve a particular need in that it provides a contrary to negative public impressions of mental health care which is far better than it ever has been in the past and much more likely to elicit positive results for a patient. The article is a reactionary review of recent public comments regarding the industry of psychiatry and psychiatric nursing. The purpose it serves in nursing is to redirect the public attention at progress and positive rather than negatives associated with mental illness and its historical treatment.