Mental health nurses' graduation

Congratulations to those who graduated in Nursing and all related specialisations on Tuesday, December 5.

In particular I would like to wish well the group of 11 nurses who successfully completed the first ever B.Sc. (Hons) in Mental Health Nursing course this year.

This was an important event because this group signifies a shift in the quality of care that psychiatric patients receive in Malta. It is unfortunate that the ceremony was marred by the fact that when the graduates were called to receive their degree they were not acknowledged as being a specialised profession and were instead grouped with the general nurses and midwives.

It is important to recognise that psychiatric nurses have their own area of expertise as do general nurses and midwives.

Unfortunately this attitude will definitely not help in the acquisition of one of our main goals: the eradication of all stigma associated with mental illness. Let us hope that this oversight is rectified in future graduation ceremonies.