From service user to mental health nurse
Intended for healthcare professionals
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From service user to mental health nurse

Nursing student Abigail Martin reveals how her background has given her a better insight in shaping her professional practice

I was a mental health service user for eight years. I was admitted, diagnosed, received treatment then discharged back to primary care. And here I am now, a third-year mental health nursing student. I’m passionate about breaking down the ‘us and them’ attitudes that I’ve seen in mental healthcare professionals. After all, we can all become a service user, have a psychotic breakdown, become depressed or consider taking our own life.

Mental Health Practice. 22, 1, 16-16. doi: 10.7748/mhp.22.1.16.s9

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