Mr Antony Mullen
Conjoint Lecturer
School of Nursing and Midwifery
Career Summary
Biography
Qualifications
- Masters in Clinical Practice, University of Technology Sydney
Keywords
- Mental Health Nursing
- Recovery Oriented Practice
- Safewards
Fields of Research
Code | Description | Percentage |
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420504 | Mental health nursing | 75 |
420313 | Mental health services | 25 |
Professional Experience
UON Appointment
Title | Organisation / Department |
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Casual Web Learn Tutor Nursing & Midwifery | University of Newcastle School of Nursing and Midwifery Australia |
Awards
Recipient
Year | Award |
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2022 |
Excellence Award - Hunter New England Local Health District Hunter New England Local Health District |
2016 |
Stan Alchin Award Australian College of Mental Health Nurses |
Recognition
Year | Award |
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2023 |
Finalist Mental Health Awards - High Quality Project or Initiative Hunter New England Local Health District |
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Journal article (11 outputs)
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2022 |
Mullen A, Browne G, Hamilton B, Skinner S, Happell B, 'Safewards: An integrative review of the literature within inpatient and forensic mental health units.', Int J Ment Health Nurs, 31 1090-1108 (2022) [C1]
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2021 |
Mullen A, Isobel S, Flanagan K, Harman K, 'Involving Mental Health Consumers in Nursing Handover: A Qualitative Study of Consumer Perspectives', Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 42 730-735 (2021) [C1] A number of benefits have been identified for including consumers in nursing handover, such as improved safety and information exchange. In mental health settings these benefits m... [more] A number of benefits have been identified for including consumers in nursing handover, such as improved safety and information exchange. In mental health settings these benefits may translate to improved nurse-consumer engagement and working towards the provision of recovery orientated practice. The process of including the consumer, whilst considered best practice, is not well established in mental health settings. Therefore further understanding, in regards to the consumer perspectives about this practice, is needed to inform its adoption and implementation. This qualitative descriptive study explores consumers¿ perspectives of their possible involvement in the nursing handover process within a mental health inpatient setting. The study took place in two mental health inpatient units in regional New South Wales, Australia. Thirteen semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with consumers, and a conventional content analysis method was used to analyse the data. Findings are presented under two categories: understanding the purpose and process of nursing handover and considering consumer involvement in handover. Findings provide insight into the views of consumers about being involved in nursing handover and further strengthen the rationale for establishing the process as part of routine practice within acute inpatient mental health units. The study also highlights the need to ensure that all processes within these settings accommodate consumer perspectives and involvement.
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2020 |
Mullen A, Isobel S, Flanagan K, Key K, Dunbar A, Bell A, Lewin TJ, 'Motivational Interviewing: Reconciling Recovery-Focused Care and Mental Health Nursing Practice', Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 41 807-814 (2020) [C1] Motivational interviewing (MI) is a long-established evidenced-based intervention aimed at guiding people to implement change. Originally developed by William Miller from the Unit... [more] Motivational interviewing (MI) is a long-established evidenced-based intervention aimed at guiding people to implement change. Originally developed by William Miller from the United States and Stephen Rollnick from the United Kingdom, a strong emphasis for MI is the underlying ¿spirit¿, rather than merely the specific techniques within the model. The ¿spirit¿ of MI consists of four key components: acceptance, partnership, evocation and compassion. These have direct overlap with concepts within the personal recovery model recognised as a critical framework in delivery of contemporary mental health services for consumers. Despite this recognition, recovery concepts have struggled to gain consistent traction, particularly within inpatient mental health units. This paper proposes that MI presents one strategy for integrating recovery-focused principles within routine mental health nursing (MHN) practice. An overview of MI and its relationship with recovery principles is discussed in the context of contemporary MHN practice. Evaluation results of a locally developed MI workshop for MHNs within a regional area of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia are presented to highlight the emerging evidence for this potential. Following the workshop, MHN participants showed key improvements in knowledge and confidence scores, as well as in understanding of key MI processes and strategies. The consolidation of these skills through training and a supervision framework is outlined.
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2020 |
Mullen A, Harman K, Flanagan K, O Brien B, Isobel S, 'Involving mental health consumers in nursing handover: A qualitative study of nursing views of the practice and its implementation', International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 29 1157-1167 (2020) [C1] Nursing handover occurs between shifts and is an important means of communication and information exchange around consumer care. The involvement of consumers in nursing handover, ... [more] Nursing handover occurs between shifts and is an important means of communication and information exchange around consumer care. The involvement of consumers in nursing handover, known as ¿bedside handover¿, is well established within general health settings and promotes a patient-centred approach to care. Bedside handover represents an opportunity for mental health settings to consolidate recovery-oriented principles, albeit with some unique challenges in the way that involving consumers in nursing handover is implemented. This qualitative descriptive study explores the views of nursing staff and nursing managers about involving consumers in nursing handover and the process of implementation across five mental health inpatient units in Australia. The study took place in a local health district covering regional and rural areas of New South Wales that had issued a directive to implement bedside handover. The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) checklist was applied to this study. Six focus groups were held with nursing staff (n¿=¿22), and eleven individual interviews were undertaken with nursing managers to explore their perceptions of bedside handover and its implications for nursing practice. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Data from focus groups and interviews were analysed separately and then combined to generate three themes: (i) the mental health context is different; (ii) protecting consumer privacy and confidentiality; and (iii) it might make things worse. The findings provide insights into both the challenges, and the process of involving consumers in nursing handover within mental health settings and provides guidance for future implementation.
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2019 |
Hall TL, Mullen A, Plummer J, Berry S, Clancy RV, 'Sound practice: Exploring the benefits of establishing a music group on an acute mental health inpatient unit', International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 28 697-705 (2019) [C1] There is evidence supporting the use of formal music therapy in the treatment of mental health consumers. Despite this, it appears to be an intervention which has not been routine... [more] There is evidence supporting the use of formal music therapy in the treatment of mental health consumers. Despite this, it appears to be an intervention which has not been routinely offered to consumers in Australian acute mental health inpatient units, possibly due to the lack of trained music therapists (or inadequate funding to employ them), as well as the challenges posed by the acuity of presentations and the short duration of admissions. Less formal therapeutic music activities may benefit consumers within these settings. This article describes how a music group activity facilitated by clinical staff with no music therapy qualifications was established. The first phase of this evaluation is then described using a descriptive qualitative method. We undertook a series of consumer and staff focus groups to explore the impact of a music group activity on an acute mental health inpatient unit. Five themes emerged from the transcripts of the focus groups¿ discussions, effects on mood, relationships and engagement, social connectedness and inclusion, the ward atmosphere and noise/agitation. Positive effects were shown across these areas, suggesting that the music group activity we established was beneficial for consumers and staff, and enhanced the ward atmosphere.
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2019 |
Clancy R, Lewin TJ, Bowman JA, Kelly BJ, Mullen AD, Flanagan K, Hazelton MJ, 'Providing physical health care for people accessing mental health services: Clinicians perceptions of their role', International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 28 256-267 (2019) [C1] The prevalence of health risk behaviours and associated poor physical health is high in people with severe mental illness. Mental health service guidelines and policies stipulate ... [more] The prevalence of health risk behaviours and associated poor physical health is high in people with severe mental illness. Mental health service guidelines and policies stipulate that mental health services should address physical health of people who access services. This study reports results from a large, interdisciplinary, cross-sectional study exploring mental health clinicians¿ (n¿=¿385) views of role legitimacy in physical health service provision. All disciplines reported that mental health clinicians have a role to play in addressing the physical health of consumers. Among mental health clinicians, psychiatrists and mental health nurses received higher endorsement than allied health clinicians in relation to the provision of physical health care, with primary care providers including general practitioners also ranking highly. As community mental health services routinely appoint allied health staff to case management roles, a challenge for services and a challenge for clinicians are to ensure that physical health and the effects of medication are monitored appropriately and systematically. Online and telephone support services received relatively lower endorsement. As the availability of nonface to face services increases, there is a need to explore their utility in this population and where appropriate promote their uptake.
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2014 |
Mullen A, Drinkwater V, Lewin TJ, 'Care zoning in a psychiatric intensive care unit: Strengthening ongoing clinical risk assessment', Journal of Clinical Nursing, 23 731-743 (2014) [C1] Aims and objectives: To implement and evaluate the care zoning model in an eight-bed psychiatric intensive care unit and, specifically, to examine the model's ability to impr... [more] Aims and objectives: To implement and evaluate the care zoning model in an eight-bed psychiatric intensive care unit and, specifically, to examine the model's ability to improve the documentation and communication of clinical risk assessment and management. Background: Care zoning guides nurses in assessing clinical risk and planning care within a mental health context. Concerns about the varying quality of clinical risk assessment prompted a trial of the care zoning model in a psychiatric intensive care unit within a regional mental health facility. The care zoning model assigns patients to one of 3 'zones' according to their clinical risk, encouraging nurses to document and implement targeted interventions required to manage those risks. Design: An implementation trial framework was used for this research to refine, implement and evaluate the impact of the model on nurses' clinical practice within the psychiatric intensive care unit, predominantly as a quality improvement initiative. Methods: The model was trialled for three months using a pre- and postimplementation staff survey, a pretrial file audit and a weekly file audit. Informal staff feedback was also sought via surveys and regular staff meetings. Results: This trial demonstrated improvement in the quality of mental state documentation, and clinical risk information was identified more accurately. There was limited improvement in the quality of care planning and the documentation of clinical interventions. Nurses' initial concerns over the introduction of the model shifted into overall acceptance and recognition of the benefits. Conclusions: The results of this trial demonstrate that the care zoning model was able to improve the consistency and quality of risk assessment information documented. Care planning and evaluation of associated outcomes showed less improvement. Relevance to clinical practice: Care zoning remains a highly applicable model for the psychiatric intensive care unit environment and is a useful tool in guiding nurses to carry out routine patient risk assessments. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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2011 |
Mullen A, Drinkwater V, 'Pro re nata use in a psychiatric intensive care unit', International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 20 409-417 (2011) [C1]
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2009 |
Mullen A, 'Mental health nurses establishing psychosocial interventions within acute inpatient settings', International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 18 83-90 (2009) [C1]
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Show 8 more journal articles |
Conference (7 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
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2023 | Mullen A, Harman K, Conrad A, Tynan R, 'Providing mental health consumers with access to their mobile phone while in hospital', INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH NURSING (2023) | ||||
2023 | Mullen A, Skinner S, Browne G, Hamilton B, Happell B, 'Consumer experiences of safewards in acute inpatient mental health units', INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH NURSING (2023) | ||||
2022 |
Mullen A, Clancy R, Mosely B, Price K, Steel J, Balding M, et al., 'Consumer and clinician views about mental health consumers accessing their mobile phones while in hospital', INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH NURSING (2022)
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Show 4 more conferences |
Mr Antony Mullen
Positions
Conjoint Lecturer
School of Nursing and Midwifery
College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing
Casual Web Learn Tutor Nursing & Midwifery
School of Nursing and Midwifery
College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing
Contact Details
antony.mullen@newcastle.edu.au |
Office
Location | Callaghan University Drive Callaghan, NSW 2308 Australia |
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