Excited for psych clinical!!

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I'm getting ready to go into my FIFTH semester of my BSN program (Hallelujah, right?!) and it's psychiatric nursing and public health. While I like public health, I'm absolutely in love with the idea of psych nursing, and I've always been more drawn to that population. I was the nursing student that got in trouble for talking to my patients for too long in the room during med-surg clinicals. :lol2: And whenever possible, I requested patients that had a psych background because I was fascinated to see how the connections played out to their physical health.

Anyone that has been through psych clinicals - I'd love to hear your thoughts. Did you feel like it gave a good experience? Were you ever frightened by your patients or the milieu? What about paperwork? What kind of interventions were you allowed to perform?

Thanks!

I hate my psych rotation. You spend all your clinical hours having conversations, yes that is important, but you don't learn anything.

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Specializes in Oncology.
I hate my psych rotation. You spend all your clinical hours having conversations, yes that is important, but you don't learn anything.

I think it's sad that you don't think communication with patients, especially psych patients, adds to your learning. But I understand that my love of psychiatric nursing is not common in my class, or others apparently judging from this thread.

Even if all I got to do in psych clinicals was interact and communicate, I would love it. I sincerely enjoy these types of patients, and I hope that I'll come to find out that this is my place in the nursing world. Med-surg/Emergency was too fast paced and crazy for me, OB could be fun or really really annoying depending on your mother-father-family patient, and pediatrics was cool, but again, I felt like I didn't get a chance to know my patients.

I like to know where you came from, where you are presently, and where you are hoping to go. If that's what psych is about, I'm glad to be in the small percentage of nursing students who really want to specialize in it.

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I think it's sad that you don't think communication with patients, especially psych patients, adds to your learning. But I understand that my love of psychiatric nursing is not common in my class, or others apparently judging from this thread.

Even if all I got to do in psych clinicals was interact and communicate, I would love it. I sincerely enjoy these types of patients, and I hope that I'll come to find out that this is my place in the nursing world. Med-surg/Emergency was too fast paced and crazy for me, OB could be fun or really really annoying depending on your mother-father-family patient, and pediatrics was cool, but again, I felt like I didn't get a chance to know my patients.

I like to know where you came from, where you are presently, and where you are hoping to go. If that's what psych is about, I'm glad to be in the small percentage of nursing students who really want to specialize in it.

I did not say communication is not important. Yes, you do learn a lot about the patient, I just don't think communication alone is enough. We do not do anything else besides talking to our patients. We are not allowed to take VS or do any assessments. I learn a lot in lecture, but no so much during clinicals.

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Forensics, Addictions.
Are you in a LPN or RN program? Our LPN year wouldn't include Psych but the RN one does because it's done 3rd semester. I have never heard of a program for RN not having one :(

An RN Program. I have attempted to persuade the Program Director to reconsider the decision to omit a psych clinical. This has been unsuccessful. We do have lectures dedicated to psychiatry. The argument is that since students will be encountering patients with psychiatric d/o while doing med-surg, OB, etc. rotations, it isn't necessary to spend time on a psych unit. I think that argument is ridiculous. There is an immense difference between a psychotic patient who is violent, needs to be put in 4-points while trying to prevent a riot among the other upset patients AND a depressed, medically compromised patient on a med-surg unit who is med compliant.

I really enjoy psychiatry. It's not for everyone, but students should be exposed to psych to see if mental health nursing is right for them.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
I hate my psych rotation. You spend all your clinical hours having conversations, yes that is important, but you don't learn anything.

I have to disagree with this, given how big psych social issues are in any setting, (especially hospitals) you can learn a LOT about what is going on and how to better help your patients from a simple conversation.

Personally I try to enjoy all the conversation time now as a student, because I know it will be so much more limited when I am an actual nurse. I know how to do assessments and vital signs. I got the head to toe assessment down pat. I can always work on my "skills" and get better at them. It takes time and practice. But learning good communication I would say is the root to a nurses roll in patient care and it doesn't come as easy for a lot of people.

When a patient can talk to you, feels like they can trust you, they are going to be more willing to open up to you, you can find out missing pieces of the puzzle, you can find out why they haven't been complient or why they might not be getting better, you can find out what is going on at home that might be impeding in their care. It's a extremely important part of our role.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
An RN Program. I have attempted to persuade the Program Director to reconsider the decision to omit a psych clinical. This has been unsuccessful. We do have lectures dedicated to psychiatry. The argument is that since students will be encountering patients with psychiatric d/o while doing med-surg, OB, etc. rotations, it isn't necessary to spend time on a psych unit. I think that argument is ridiculous. There is an immense difference between a psychotic patient who is violent, needs to be put in 4-points while trying to prevent a riot among the other upset patients AND a depressed, medically compromised patient on a med-surg unit who is med compliant.

I really enjoy psychiatry. It's not for everyone, but students should be exposed to psych to see if mental health nursing is right for them.

Well I guess at least you're still getting psych lectures, but you are right, it's not the same.

Maybe in Clinicals if you are able to take on a patient that is a 1:1 for psych issues that can at least give you some more experience with "hard core" psych patient. I know at our hospital on the medical floor there is always a 1:1

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Specializes in Oncology.
When a patient can talk to you, feels like they can trust you, they are going to be more willing to open up to you, you can find out missing pieces of the puzzle, you can find out why they haven't been complient or why they might not be getting better, you can find out what is going on at home that might be impeding in their care. It's a extremely important part of our role.

Yes, yes, yes. I PRIDE myself on being this type of nursing student. If you think talking to your patients is a waste of time, you're missing out on so much of their story. And if that's the case, better to go into a field where the conversation is limited, such as ER.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Yes, yes, yes. I PRIDE myself on being this type of nursing student. If you think talking to your patients is a waste of time, you're missing out on so much of their story. And if that's the case, better to go into a field where the conversation is limited, such as ER.

I do love the ER. I like the constant change of pace, but that is the part that can suck about it too, but I definitely love reading the H&P's of my patients and finding out the "story". I mean we had a patient that was very closed up and his spouse was pretty distant from him as well. Well with a little TLC got him to open up more when the wife was out, he was getting a colostomy bag and the wife just wasn't very informed on it and wanted nothing to do with it, he wanted it because he has severe UC but also it's going to cause some serious psych social issues while adjusting, even if it is better alternative. So was able to contact Social services and get some help and education and support set up. All because someone took the time to actual TALK to the patient.

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I had a great 10 week Psych clinical in a Psych acute care unit at one of our local hospitals. We rotated between that unit and the Psych subsection of the ED.

It was a fascinating term! I don't think I'll ever want to work in Psych, but folks in my class agreed that our therapeutic communication skills really improved through that term. Our next term was back on medsurg. One of our students had a patient who was recovering from an assault and rape and said she was able to engage the patient in conversation in ways she wouldn't have approached at all before our Psych rotation. We also had some students working on the oncology unit after our Psych rotation and they reported they had a much easier time engaging patients in conversation about their diagnosis.

It really was a very valuable clinical term.

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I had a great 10 week Psych clinical in a Psych acute care unit at one of our local hospitals. We rotated between that unit and the Psych subsection of the ED.

It was a fascinating term! I don't think I'll ever want to work in Psych, but folks in my class agreed that our therapeutic communication skills really improved through that term. Our next term was back on medsurg. One of our students had a patient who was recovering from an assault and rape and said she was able to engage the patient in conversation in ways she wouldn't have approached at all before our Psych rotation. We also had some students working on the oncology unit after our Psych rotation and they reported they had a much easier time engaging patients in conversation about their diagnosis.

It really was a very valuable clinical term.

I realize I'm prejudiced because my specialty is psych, but I've maintained for years that nursing school curricula should have a lot more emphasis on psych than they do (and so many are cutting back!), because psych is the only specialty that applies across all clinical domains. Depending on where (in what clinical area) you choose to work, you can go your entire career without needing to know anything about peds, OB, cardiac nursing, orthopedic nursing. etc. -- but, anywhere you work in nursing, you're going to be dealing with people who are frightened, angry, anxious, and/or dealing with a crisis; and, of course, the mentally ill have accidents, get sick and/or need surgery, too -- you'll be dealing with psych clients no matter where you practice. Strong therapeutic communication skills are an asset in any area of nursing if you want to be a really effective clinician.

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I realize I'm prejudiced because my specialty is psych, but I've maintained for years that nursing school curricula should have a lot more emphasis on psych than they do (and so many are cutting back!), because psych is the only specialty that applies across all clinical domains. Depending on where (in what clinical area) you choose to work, you can go your entire career without needing to know anything about peds, OB, cardiac nursing, orthopedic nursing. etc. -- but, anywhere you work in nursing, you're going to be dealing with people who are frightened, angry, anxious, and/or dealing with a crisis; and, of course, the mentally ill have accidents, get sick and/or need surgery, too -- you'll be dealing with psych clients no matter where you practice. Strong therapeutic communication skills are an asset in any area of nursing if you want to be a really effective clinician.

I completely agree....although I confess that, going in to the term, I was not excited that all we'd be allowed to do is talk for the whole term. But as the term went on, and then once we got back to the acute care floors....I and most of my classmates could really see how beneficial our term of "just talking" had been.

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Specializes in Oncology.
I realize I'm prejudiced because my specialty is psych, but I've maintained for years that nursing school curricula should have a lot more emphasis on psych than they do (and so many are cutting back!), because psych is the only specialty that applies across all clinical domains. Depending on where (in what clinical area) you choose to work, you can go your entire career without needing to know anything about peds, OB, cardiac nursing, orthopedic nursing. etc. -- but, anywhere you work in nursing, you're going to be dealing with people who are frightened, angry, anxious, and/or dealing with a crisis; and, of course, the mentally ill have accidents, get sick and/or need surgery, too -- you'll be dealing with psych clients no matter where you practice. Strong therapeutic communication skills are an asset in any area of nursing if you want to be a really effective clinician.

Did you start out in psych or did you have experience somewhere else first? And would you recommend a new grad start out in psych?

Just curious to know the opinion from someone who is in mental health.

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