Abstract
Mental health challenges are a leading health issue, and while nurses should be well positioned to provide care to this client population, nurses are not adequately prepared for this role during their education. This qualitative narrative inquiry explored nursing students' (N = 15) experiences within their mental health practicums. Analyzed through Foucault's concept of micropower, participants' narratives illustrate that students observed nurses holding power over patients, and enacted resistance to this power in a complex interplay of empowerment and disempowerment. Study findings speak to the need for systemic shifts in mental health practice and ongoing educator support of students in mental health practicums.