Becoming a Mental Health Nurse Practitioner has been a non-linear journey for me, shaped by a combination of personal challenges and professional achievements. Growing up on a dairy farm in rural Victoria, I faced isolation and family trauma that impacted my education. After leaving school and home at 16, I worked various jobs in Melbourne before deciding to return to education at 23, when I discovered free bachelor's programmes in nursing.
Balancing 38 hours of study with up to 40 hours of casual work was tough, but I supported myself through university. Despite my aversion to bodily fluids, I was determined to pursue nursing. I found a natural talent for science and developed a passion for psychiatry, inspired by motivating lecturers. As one of the first graduates of the Bachelor of Health Science Nursing programme in Victoria, I completed a general graduate programme and worked in various wards, eventually focusing on Paediatrics and Neurosciences. Concurrently, I pursued a master's degree with a mental health specialisation.
Midway through my Master's, I earned a Graduate Diploma in Health Science Nursing with a focus on Mental Health, which led to my endorsement as a Psychiatric Nurse by the Victorian Nurse and Midwife Registration Board in 1995. This allowed me to transition into psychiatry, starting with child and adolescent mental health acute services. I later moved to the Intensive Mobile Youth Outreach Service, deepening my understanding of complex mental health conditions.
I resumed my master's studies in 1998, focusing my thesis on Mental Health Nurse Practitioner roles. My research — titled "Independent Nurse Practitioner Roles in Mental Health" — explored how advanced practice mental health nurses viewed their roles, finding that NP roles in the USA and UK had showcased more autonomy for over 40 years beyond Australia. In the IMYOS role, I frequently operated independently managing complex cases, which led me to advocate for NP legislation. The NP legislation was established in 2000, but the endorsement process remained complex and varied across states.
In 2009, I led a state-funded NP project, reigniting my interest in NP endorsement. Witnessing advancements in NP legislation and the introduction of Medicare items and PBS in 2010, I pursued additional studies and achieved NP endorsement in September 2012. My subsequent roles included managing intake for child and adolescent mental health and working with Primary Health Networks to develop various mental health programmes, including suicide prevention, PTSD, child mental health, perinatal mental health, and services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. I also served as a clinical lead in setting up the Headspace service.
Since gaining my NP endorsement, I have expanded my scope to include neurodevelopmental advanced assessment and diagnosis, a range of psychotropic prescribing for complex mental illness, medicated assisted opiate replacement prescribing, medicinal cannabis prescribing, and safely managing deprescribing. I founded the MHNP Special Interest Group in 2014 to support those pursuing and maintaining NP endorsement and am proud of my leadership in the ADHD Senate Inquiry in 2023, collaborating with the ACMHN and colleagues to elevate our voices in Parliament.
For over 14 years, I have enjoyed the freedom and flexibility of private practice. I never stop learning — over the last few years I have completed ADOS2 training and added neurodevelopmental assessments for children and adults to my practice. Over the past two years I have also been undertaking Animal Assisted Therapy training and added a therapy dog named Bobbi to my practice, which has been an amazing journey of meaningful moments for both me and my clients. Despite the challenges of mental health nursing work, the reward comes from seeing clients and colleagues achieve their best.