Hard to get a transfer out of a psych department

Jenni811, RN · Jun 1, 2012

What is even harder is getting a patient on a med/surg floor to a psych unit.

PennyWise · Jun 1, 2012

Why is it so hard to transfer out of psych to a med floor ? They act like I'm the monkey from out break I can't quite understand the issue here does anybody else have this same problem can some one shed a light on this issue for me ?

When you apply for new positions/transfers, do everything you can to display your "medical" skills you still possess.

The stigma about psych nurses is that the lose a lot of their skills. They pass meds efficiently, restrain well, know how to talk people down and document in great detail...............but don't ask them to insert a foley or care for a pt with a chest tube.

I once wanted out of M/S very badly and interviewed for a psych position. The interviewing manager asked me "you've put a lot of time into acquiring your skills as a M/S nurse. Do you really want to do psych and risk losing them all?" I was beside myself. I figured she'd resent that stereotype.

Problem is, nurses on other units see the psych unit refusing patients for medical reasons. The hospital I mentioned above literally would transfer a patient off the psych unit for something as simple as a fever. They didn't accept patients who needed IV medications either. So, the end result of all this is, nurses (and other people, like managers) start to assume they are this way because the nurses don't want to take care of patients who present with any acuity or needs beyond pill taking.

Obviously this assumption is off base, the nurses have only minimal control over who is admitted to their unit and who is not. But, that is why people have the impression that psych nurses don't have medical skills.?

We all float down here.

PennyWise · Jun 1, 2012

What is even harder is getting a patient on a med/surg floor to a psych unit.

Lmao.............perfect intro to my post.

We all float down here.