Mr Powell has become a board member of the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses.

Part of the the mental health team at St John of God Warrnambool, the appointment is the latest step in a long nursing career.

“I started as a state enrolled nurse at the Geelong Hospital,” Mr Powell said.

“As part of that, I used to do some work with a mental health support group.

“It was a great opportunity to hear what it was like to have a mental illness and I found it was an area I could make a difference working in.”

Mr Powell’s first posting as a mental health nurse was at Brierly in Warrnambool in 1990.

He said while community attitudes towards mental health have come a long way in the last 27 years, there was still much more work to be done.

“More people are willing to talk about mental health,” he said.

“Having said that, some people with mental health issues still feel there is a stigma attached to their illness.

“It is still not easy for some people to ask for help, they still feel some shame.

“We are making some ground on that, having high-profile people like Wayne Schwass coming out and talking so openly has been a great thing for people with mental illnesses.”

Mr Powell said the role of the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses was to continue to educate and up-skill nurses.

The college keeps an eye on the latest techniques and tools to emerge in the mental health field and continues to push for more thorough training of mental health nurses coming into the system.

“The board will continue to advocate for comprehensive core skills to be passed on to new nurses coming through,” he said.

“Only a small portion of the under graduate program is training on the job and that is something we would like to chance.

“On the job training is an invaluable tool.”

Mr Powell is one of eight board members from across the country, having won his position through an election process.

He has signed on for a three-year term.

He attended the college’s national conference in Hobart in October. The conference attracted over 400 mental health nurses from across the country and some international guests.

Throughout the year, the board will meet face-to-face for three meetings with other gatherings to be done via tele-conference.