Changing attitudes : the role of a consumer academic in the education of postgraduate psychiatric nursing students

Consumer participation in health care isincreasingly becoming an expectation within mental health services. Consumer involvement in the education of mental health professionals, including nurses is considered crucial to achieving this aim. The article describes the impact of a mental health consumer academic on the attitudes of postgrduate psychiatric nursing students towards cnsumer participation. A questionnaire was administered to students before (n=25) and following (n=19) exposure to the taching of the consumer academic. Comparison of results suggests that support for consumer participation increases after exposure to the consumer academic reinforcing the value of mental health consumer in psychiatric nursing education.