Psych unit CNA....

Congratulations on your start in CNA work....

I've looked at the psych unit for CNA and have found a couple of positions (in the Pacific NW).

The first positions were in chemical dependency and addiction care.... Those were entry level positions that paid about $10+. It seemed like a good system to get experience in the psych/addiction field....

The other CNA position for a psych unit was at the VA (veteran's administration). They wanted one year experience and a CNA2 (acute care) certification. They started at about $16 per hour with full retirement and benefits.

I've been considering the psych units... I spent more than 10 years as a therapist.... But I can't even get the VA to talk with me until I have a recent year experience as a CNA.

Good luck with what you do. Be patient. Be diligent. You can find the work you want. Hope this helps....
Blessings

Congrats on your decision to return to school and focusing on mental health! My situation is kind of opposite. I'm a 43yo mom with a 15+ year history working as a mental health clinician (I have a masters in counseling), who is now switching gears trying to get into nursing by taking the CNA training through the Red Cross (I'm halfway done). I have, however, worked on our behavioral medicine unit (psych unit) on a per diem basis as a mental health clinician. So I thought that maybe if I shared my experience with you, you might get a better idea of how some units use their staff.

The position was quite different from my other jobs with the same title. Let me explain. As part of the multidisciplinary team on that unit, my tasks included 1:1 and group counseling, taking vital signs, helping with admissions and discharges, safety checks, 1:1 for high-risk patients, getting patients into and supervising them while in the dining room, and a variety of CNA-type tasks (including the vitals) such as ambulating patients that needed it (We would have a lot of elderly patients from nursing homes/long-term care facilities who, after being medically cleared on the med/surg floor, were admitted to our unit, usually for UTIs, while all meds were withdrawn and therefore the patient needed monitoring and the typical CNA care). I toileted people, bathed them, etc., and this was all long before I was a CNA. We treated patients as young as 16 on up to 90, for a wide variety of mental health diagnoses, as well as for substance abuse, and dementia.

So, I was thinking that maybe you might have more luck asking about a similar position, sometimes called mental health counselor, associate, tech, etc. It's worth a shot. This will definitely give you the best of both worlds in terms of experience, especially as they only usually require a bachelors at the most! Good luck and please keep us posted!

-Lynn

We had a psych unit at the hospital at which I worked. The CNA's there did mostly babysitting, to be honest. I can't generalize over the entire field, just how that unit worked. Basically, most people in that unit were capable of basic care, and were ambulatory. So, you're not doing 'typical' skills that you have as a CNA. There was an awful lot of watch work. That is, sitting in the room with them so they did not hurt themselves. You might end up talking with some of them to a large degree, or you may sit there in silence.

Not the job for me, but I'm not you. The main thing, you really do few tasks that are 'hard core' CNA work.

I should clarify that the CNA work I did mostly pertained to those elderly patients I described. Standard mental health patients did not require that level of care unless they were detoxing or recently came out of surgery. The rest were able to care for their own ADLs. I was also one of those clinicians that couldn't stand sitting around, so if I was done with my work, I would ask the nurses if there was anything I could do for them or assist them with. So I created opportunities for myself you might say. A job is always what you put into it. If you want more out of it, and have good time management skills, you can find ways to challenge yourself and learn more.

-Lynn

Hey congrats!!! I'm new and am not a cna yet.However, I have worked as emergency transportation as a tie down and restraint personnel crew member for psych wards along side PCT/CNA's. The cna's, under direction of the lpn/lvn, would help feeding, cleaning, and restraining, changing and routine vitals just as in any care facility. I do know though that they usually only hire males in IL for this position, usually intimidating big guys. I have seen some women workers also but far and few in between. I have nothing against the genders but I do see it understandable that women working in a psychiatric unit would be in more of a conflicting danger when it comes to not solid minded men. Do keep in mind though some places do have at least one female at a time working to shower the female psych patients. That is the way they run it over in IL

hope some of that helps

J

hey, Congrates,
I am an LNA and a Cna . I am licensed in NH and certified in mass.
I work with hip replacment.knee replacement. drug rehab. We ALWAYS ambulate with gait belt and if a resident needs a machine called the hoyer lift, or the sabrina wich we use 2 aid for at all time. We do vital,adl's, transfer w/pivate disk and slidding board.Nursing Assistants are the front line for patients and residents.I am looking into going for my LPN in nashua NH. My sister-in-law is an LPN in New Boston, Nh and she is my motivation on continuing.