Submission To
The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology

Study on
Mental Health and Mental Illness
May 29, 2003
by
The Registered Psychiatric Nurses of Canada

• Preface
• Registered Psychiatric Nurses
• Mental Health and Illness in Primary Health Care
• Essentiality
• Community Participation
• Intersectoral Collaboration
• Access
• Empowerment
• A Cognitive Economy
• Mindfulness
• Human Resources
• The Urgency for Action
• Epilogue

Mental health/illness issues that affect Canadians can no longer be ignored or minimized within Canadian health systems. It is long past the time for 'closing the gap' between general health services and mental health services. Canadians believe that persons with disabilities should enjoy the benefits of full citizenship. This is not the case for a large number of Canadians with a mental illness. The Registered Psychiatric Nurses of Canada support the recent call by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) for Canada and all the Provinces to commit to a National Plan on Mental Health.

Registered Psychiatric Nurses (RPNs) practise mostly in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Currently, there are a few Registered Psychiatric Nurses practising in all three Territories and in Ontario and Nova Scotia who maintain registration with one of the four Canadian regulatory bodies. Registered psychiatric nurses (RPNs) have provided professional mental health services in Canada for over 75 years.

Beyond Canada, RPNs contribute to mental health systems in most of the Commonwealth countries. Registered Psychiatric Nurses are the largest single group of mental health professionals in their jurisdiction of regulation with approximately 6000 members practising in Canada.

RPNs form a unique profession and are regulated by legislated bodies in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. RPNs are bound by a Code of Ethics, Standards of Psychiatric Nursing and expected Competencies.

Formal education for RPNs has been available in Canada since 1920.Registered Psychiatric Nurses have both general and psychiatric nursing knowledge, skills and abilities but their area of expertise is working with persons whose primary needs are in the areas of mental illness and mental health.. RPNs practice in diverse settings with diverse clients, independently and in collaboration with other disciplines. Registered psychiatric nursing practice domains include: psychiatric nursing practice, psychiatric nursing education, psychiatric nursing administration and psychiatric nursing research.