New grad needs psych advice!

[ASMRN]

Hi all!

I am a new graduate looking for some advice and guidance. I recently got offered a position on a behavioral health unit. As a nursing student, I never really pictured myself working on a psych floor, but as i've discovered the job marked for a new grad in southern California is TOUGH. I initially interviewed for a float pool position, but the director of the behavioral health unit sat in during my interview and offered me a position. I am in no position to say no to a job offer and am incredibly grateful for the opportunity, but i'm also very hesitant.

So my question is this:

- How hard was it to transition from psych nursing into another speciality such as med-surg or tele?

- As a new grad how should I prepare myself for this specialty? Although it wasn't my preferred unit, I still want to embrace the opportunity and learn as much as I can.

Thank you in advance!!

[RunBabyRN]

Congrats on the job offer! I considered a psych position, but ended up not for my own reasons, but I think it's a good thing to consider. You will encounter psych patients in every area of nursing, so having some experience with that would certainly be helpful. You won't use your hands-on skills so much (IV starts, caths, etc), but you will really build your therapeutic communication, setting limits, teaching, managing family dynamics and so forth.

[ASMRN]

Thank you for the advice! I really appreciate it. I decided to take the job and just really embrace the experience and learn what I can from it. I'm a bit nervous because i'm not really sure what to expect, but i'm optimistic. I'm hoping I can make the transition some how down the road and apply what I learn in psych to other units.