Scottish mental health nurse annual conference

Mental Health Nursing,  Jan 2005  

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A very successful Scottish annual Mental Health Nurse Conference was held in Royal Cornhill Hospital in Aberdeen on November 19. lan Dow the conference organiser catered admirably for the 60 delegates. The hot soup and Aberdeen Butteries were well appreciated, especially by those who had travelled a great distance in wintry conditions to get to the conference.

The conference was opened by Sharon Duncan the UK chair for the MHNA.

The keynote speaker Professor David Alexander from the Trauma Research Centre at Cornhill Hospital, gave a thought provoking and humorous presentation on the beliefs held historically by society on the causes and effects pre and post trauma reactions, for instance:

The cause of diarrhoea in foot soldiers was caused by soldiers marching and had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the soldiers were facing imminent potential life threatening experiences/ he reported.

Ron Ellis the project coordinator from Breathing Space gave an overview of the service the organisation provides, a confidential free phone line for those who feel 'down'.

Michael Fuller spoke on the Agenda for Change, a subject which at the moment is very important to members, many of whom are working on their job descriptions.

The afternoon was spent in skills based workshops. A workshop on recovery was presented by CPN Christine Brown. Another on psychosocial interventions was led by Diane McBain and Angie Wood, both CPNs who have recently completed the Thorne Diploma course. The third was on solution focused therapy by Steve Smith CPN and part time tutor at Robert Gordon's University. The fourth, on mental health legislation, was led by Alan Leslie a mental health nurse seconded to the training department in Grampian.

The overwhelming feedback from delegates was, a very worthwhile day, with the bonus of networking with colleagues from different areas in Scotland.

Copyright Community Psychiatric Nurses Association Jan 2005
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