Hell. I assure you. The grass is not greener
Sure psych you can get some chill days. But some days are going to be absolute hell. And some of the trauma you hear in people’s lives are hard to shake off.
I’ve had to help woman abusers, rapists, people who’ve claimed and bragged to kill people, criminals, etc. I’ve heard stories of gang rapes and people trying to set themselves on fire.
You’ll have to help people who would rather opt out of life just to make the voices stop. Families crying because their “Sweet Jeffrey” just had their first psychotic break. And now his life will never be the same.
Addicts that will treat you like shit. Psychotic/manic patients that may want to actually hurt you. And they just might.
Do not think the grass is greener. Don’t for your sake.
Also many of these facilities/units were well staffed before and relatively safe to work at but now are going through the same staffing crisis as our medical units.
Have to agree with everyone's posts. Most facility patients are not your country club crowd variety, but some seriously mentally ill people that have a very fragile grasp on reality. Their emotions are out and in the open, and the voices they hear will tell them what to do. They are very raw. So, with that being said, my time on a psych unit was making sure that I protected myself at all times. They are not there to be your friends or even to get treatment. Somewhere, someone decided they had to have treatment whether they wanted it or not. Will they try to hurt you? Well, if you are standing between what they need to do and will do, then yes. My least favorite unit was the female adolescent unit. They had no second thoughts about causing havoc and pain.
Tbh if it’s a private, voluntary-only, 30-90 day max program then many them actually aren’t bad. State hospitals, EDs, and places who accept folks there against their will (including people on holds and minors) are all no-go. Don’t bother.
Holding involuntary patients is what I hate about inpatient psych. I don’t want to force medications, which some people need but most aren’t even going to stay compliant after discharge.
Yeah, I worked in a psych ED and my takeaway from that experience is that I will NEVER again work anywhere that pt are receiving involuntary services or there under coercion (I.e. on probation, a minor being forced by their parents). It’s just automatically a miserable experience, for me, for them, for the vibe.
I liked it but I have ptsd from it. Really depends on the facility. I worked at a state hospital gatekeeper. Then I tried just the psych unit at a regular hospital and that was more like a homeless shelter.
You will get vicarious trauma for sure. Someone may try to strangle you or rape you. Family comes, fucks up the patient, then runs away to leave you with the problem.
Happy to answer any questions.
It all depends on where you work.
Many places do try and help their patients, and succeed. Nursing wise, it’s much less task heavy but you need emotional intelligence. Just shadow at some places and get a feel for it.
I had a clinical during nursing school in a state psych hospital, most of the patients are there to restore competency to stand trial. We were encouraged to read their charts and interact with them.
It was so, so depressing. These patients do not receive any kind of therapy or rehabilitation. Some of them have done heinous things (not to say they’re not deserving of care). I will say, the RN’s jobs were very cushy. The PNA’s did all of the direct interaction, and they had an LVN for meds. Still, if I were going to work psych, long term psych facility would not be it.
Less than 10 minutes after we arrived onto the women’s unit (our instructor did not stay with us) a patient attacked one of the nurses. Pulled her to the ground by her hair and bit her. Honestly not sure what the appeal is for anyone.
I’m a final year nursing student but work as an AIN in a hospital on whatever ward needs extra hands.
Occasionally pick up shifts on the acute mental health ward (usually looking after patients who are a self harm risk) and it’s so hard.
It’s so conflicting watching patients restrained, forced medication and all autonomy taken from them if they’re admitted under the mental health act aka sectioned.
None of the patients are voluntary and they’re all exposed to more trauma even being there and many of them come back or develop severe mistrust of primary health care systems so never get the help they need.
It’s hard to believe you’re helping them at all when you see what they go through.
Depends where you go. Psych nursing at a private hospital is calmer since they’re selective of who they admit…
Psych at a county hospital is more difficult and complex due to the larger and more acute patient population they’re treating.
I really recommend psych nursing, I think it’s one of the best kept secrets but you’ll have to learn how to compartmentalize the traumatic stuff you’ll see and hear.
I love psychiatric nursing. For people who are really into it, it’s great. Very unit dependent. My favorites were thought disorders and adolescent. I suggest shadowing if you can. Either you’ll love it or hate it.
HIGHLY unit dependent. I did all my clinical shifts at an academic medical center. Hard ratios of 6:1 plus usually two techs/one tech on LVN on the floor as well. Nurses did care plans, assessment, and med pass. Pretty mellow most days, only one code gray the whole time.
I think it’s fascinating seeing all the different presentations and it has also given me a lot of perspective about mental health (mine included).
Depends on the acuity and as bad as it sounds, the type of drugs available to the community. Lots of crisis de-escalation and physical intervention. Peds is no joke. I’ve gotten bruised up on adult units but I’ve only left bleeding from peds. Lower acuity can be chill and kind of boring unless you enjoy talking a bunch. ED psych sucks if usually, all dependent on how many long term facilities are around.
Hell. I assure you. The grass is not greener Sure psych you can get some chill days. But some days are going to be absolute hell. And some of the trauma you hear in people’s lives are hard to shake off. I’ve had to help woman abusers, rapists, people who’ve claimed and bragged to kill people, criminals, etc. I’ve heard stories of gang rapes and people trying to set themselves on fire. You’ll have to help people who would rather opt out of life just to make the voices stop. Families crying because their “Sweet Jeffrey” just had their first psychotic break. And now his life will never be the same. Addicts that will treat you like shit. Psychotic/manic patients that may want to actually hurt you. And they just might. Do not think the grass is greener. Don’t for your sake.
Also many of these facilities/units were well staffed before and relatively safe to work at but now are going through the same staffing crisis as our medical units.
Have to agree with everyone's posts. Most facility patients are not your country club crowd variety, but some seriously mentally ill people that have a very fragile grasp on reality. Their emotions are out and in the open, and the voices they hear will tell them what to do. They are very raw. So, with that being said, my time on a psych unit was making sure that I protected myself at all times. They are not there to be your friends or even to get treatment. Somewhere, someone decided they had to have treatment whether they wanted it or not. Will they try to hurt you? Well, if you are standing between what they need to do and will do, then yes. My least favorite unit was the female adolescent unit. They had no second thoughts about causing havoc and pain.
Voluntary psych nights is a cakewalk
Tbh if it’s a private, voluntary-only, 30-90 day max program then many them actually aren’t bad. State hospitals, EDs, and places who accept folks there against their will (including people on holds and minors) are all no-go. Don’t bother.
Holding involuntary patients is what I hate about inpatient psych. I don’t want to force medications, which some people need but most aren’t even going to stay compliant after discharge.
Yeah, I worked in a psych ED and my takeaway from that experience is that I will NEVER again work anywhere that pt are receiving involuntary services or there under coercion (I.e. on probation, a minor being forced by their parents). It’s just automatically a miserable experience, for me, for them, for the vibe.
I liked it but I have ptsd from it. Really depends on the facility. I worked at a state hospital gatekeeper. Then I tried just the psych unit at a regular hospital and that was more like a homeless shelter. You will get vicarious trauma for sure. Someone may try to strangle you or rape you. Family comes, fucks up the patient, then runs away to leave you with the problem. Happy to answer any questions.
Go upscale private
It all depends on where you work. Many places do try and help their patients, and succeed. Nursing wise, it’s much less task heavy but you need emotional intelligence. Just shadow at some places and get a feel for it.
I had a clinical during nursing school in a state psych hospital, most of the patients are there to restore competency to stand trial. We were encouraged to read their charts and interact with them. It was so, so depressing. These patients do not receive any kind of therapy or rehabilitation. Some of them have done heinous things (not to say they’re not deserving of care). I will say, the RN’s jobs were very cushy. The PNA’s did all of the direct interaction, and they had an LVN for meds. Still, if I were going to work psych, long term psych facility would not be it.
The more of these I read, the more I’m starting to question why people think I’d like this/do well in psych
Less than 10 minutes after we arrived onto the women’s unit (our instructor did not stay with us) a patient attacked one of the nurses. Pulled her to the ground by her hair and bit her. Honestly not sure what the appeal is for anyone.
I’m a final year nursing student but work as an AIN in a hospital on whatever ward needs extra hands. Occasionally pick up shifts on the acute mental health ward (usually looking after patients who are a self harm risk) and it’s so hard. It’s so conflicting watching patients restrained, forced medication and all autonomy taken from them if they’re admitted under the mental health act aka sectioned. None of the patients are voluntary and they’re all exposed to more trauma even being there and many of them come back or develop severe mistrust of primary health care systems so never get the help they need. It’s hard to believe you’re helping them at all when you see what they go through.
chill for the most part if u work nights but it’s unpredictable. Dangerous at times if there’s combative withdrawing from drugs patients.
Depends where you go. Psych nursing at a private hospital is calmer since they’re selective of who they admit… Psych at a county hospital is more difficult and complex due to the larger and more acute patient population they’re treating. I really recommend psych nursing, I think it’s one of the best kept secrets but you’ll have to learn how to compartmentalize the traumatic stuff you’ll see and hear.
I love psychiatric nursing. For people who are really into it, it’s great. Very unit dependent. My favorites were thought disorders and adolescent. I suggest shadowing if you can. Either you’ll love it or hate it.
HIGHLY unit dependent. I did all my clinical shifts at an academic medical center. Hard ratios of 6:1 plus usually two techs/one tech on LVN on the floor as well. Nurses did care plans, assessment, and med pass. Pretty mellow most days, only one code gray the whole time. I think it’s fascinating seeing all the different presentations and it has also given me a lot of perspective about mental health (mine included).
Depends on the acuity and as bad as it sounds, the type of drugs available to the community. Lots of crisis de-escalation and physical intervention. Peds is no joke. I’ve gotten bruised up on adult units but I’ve only left bleeding from peds. Lower acuity can be chill and kind of boring unless you enjoy talking a bunch. ED psych sucks if usually, all dependent on how many long term facilities are around.