The Potential of Poetry in Mental Health Nurse Pre-registration Education

Abstract

This paper examines the potential of poetry as a resource within mental health nurse pre-registration education. There has long been a debate as to whether the art or the science of nursing should be foregrounded within pre-registration education, especially in the UK within recent years as the latest Nursing and Midwifery Council's standards of pre-registration education appear to have shifted the focus towards the acquisition of skills, giving less consideration to the holistic transformatory process of education. The paper uses the conceptualisation of education by Beista, who proposes that education can be considered in relation to the three domains of qualification, socialisation and subjectification. Qualification refers to the acquisition of knowledge and skills, socialisation refers to the process of joining a professional group, and subjectification refers to the development of the individual as a reflective, thoughtful and responsible individual. The paper explores each of these domains in turn and considers how poetry can make a unique contribution in supporting both personal development, and the acquisition of professional knowledge and skills. The reading and writing of poetry can support students to challenge epistemic blinders, enhance their interpersonal skills and develop a more authentic professional identity.

Keywords: health humanities; mental health; nurse education; poetry.