Currently, psychiatric consultation-liaison nursing (PCLN) is the primary formal avenue to increased on-the- job nurse expertise in caring for people experiencing a mental illness (Sharrock and Happell 2000). American data suggest that consultation rates are less than one tenth of reported prevalence rates of psychiatric morbidity in hospitals. European data also suggests that consultation liaison psychiatry service delivery falls significantly short of reported rates of psychiatric comorbidity (Huyse et al 2001). These findings indicate that consultation liaison nursing alone is insufficient. Improving psychological and psychiatric care for patients on a large scale will require increased training in mental health education as part of comprehensive nursing education (Clinton and Hazelton 2000; Prebble 2001). These sentiments reflect recommendations of the World Health Organisation (2001) that general health personnel be trained in mental health care skills, with mental health content included in the training curricula, as well as refresher courses.