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Branch ContactsBranch Secretary Branch Chair Vice Chair Branch Treasurer Committee Members Allison Mott Branch MeetingsACT Branch Meetings are held the 3rd Monday of each month, February to November, Level 3, 1 Moore Street, Civic, 2601. Please contact Anita Mansfield, Branch Secretary, for more details, on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it All members from the ACT and surrounding rural areas are welcome to attend the meetings. In addition, there is a core group of members, comprising the Executive and Committee, who undertake the core business of the ACT Branch between meetings. About the BranchThe ACT Branch is the smallest of the College Branches. The main reason for this is the population of the ACT, which is only a little over 300,000. Still, as the Nation’s Capital, what the ACT lacks in size, it makes up for in ‘Oomph!’ – a state of affairs the ACT Branch tries to reflect! There are many and varied opportunities in the ACT for nurses working in the field of mental health, including the public and private sectors, community services, medical practices, and private practice. The largest employee of mental health nurses is the public mental health service, Mental Health ACT (MHACT) (ACT Health), which employs almost three hundred (300) nurses, Enrolled and Registered, full-time, part-time, permanent, temporary, and casual. Of particular significance in the ACT is the MHACT Post Graduate Registered Nurse Programme, which is run in collaboration with the University of Canberra. This Programme provides Registered Nurses (RNs) with the opportunity to combine work and post-graduate study in a very supportive context. RNs are employed either full-time or part-time and rotated through a variety of services – acute, sub-acute, rehabilitation, older persons, community and crisis assessment, as well as a supernumerary elective placement options with specialist teams such as the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Eating Disorders Programme, Consultation Liaison, and Forensic Mental Health. During this time, RNs are actively mentored by nurse educators, Clinical Nurse Consultants, and experienced RNs. In addition, participants are guaranteed an ACT Health scholarship to pay all University fees, and paid for eight study days a year. This Programme provides an excellent means of supporting RNs who are interested in gaining experience and qualifications in the field of mental health, and of training up our new generation of mental health nurses. Many of the RNs who commence this Programme are new graduates, and a number who complete move on to areas outside of the ACT, including rural and regional areas around Australia. The ACT Branch of the ACMHN actively supports this Programme through the provision of professional and practice development activities, and also by awarding an annual Mental Health Post Graduate Registered Nurse Award. The ACT Branch also provides opportunities for professional and practice development to all clinicians working in mental health, not only to College Members. All members of the multi-disciplinary team are invited to attend Branch activities, including our Practice Development Interest Group, and breakfasts / dinners with guest speakers. In addition, members receive professional advice and consultancy on health care policy, workforce planning, education and research; and access to College resources and networks, including the Standards of Practice for Nurses, International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, research monographs, and other website resources. For further information about the many benefit of becoming a member of the ACMHN, please follow this link – JOIN NOW!
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