considering a career in psychiatric nursing

[naomi123456]

Hey!

I've kind of always assumed that i'm gonna have a career to do with psychology as it's a subject that interests me and i've been encouraged to work towards becoming a psychologist. However, placements to do the clinical training etc are very rare and the actual time spent working with patients is minimal, i don't really think it's the sort of job i'm looking for. I've just done a weeks work experience on a psycho-geriatric ward and visited the acute admissions ward there as well and it seems more like the kind of thing i want to do - caring for and working directly with patients. To become a psychiatric nurse you do a nursing degree right? Can you specialise straight away in psychiatric nursing or do you have to do general first (bearing in mind i live in England)?

Also, i've heard that career advancement oppurtunites in nursing are fairly poor - is this true? Is is possible to do a masters degree in psychiatric nursing and if so what positions would this qualify you for? Basically, how far can you take a career in psychiatric nursing and what sort of salary would you be earning once you got there?

Sorry that this is so long, i basically would appreciate any career advice on psychiatric nursing and information on the degrees available that link to it. Any help would be great, thanks for your time!

[Con Mac]

undefinedundefinedundefined i love psychiatric nursing but i highly recommend before you specialize you get a couple of years of med-surg experience! especially if you want to continue to work in an acute care/hospital setting. you do not need a specific degree but you may take the certification test if you go to a bsn program.

hey!

i've kind of always assumed that i'm gonna have a career to do with psychology as it's a subject that interests me and i've been encouraged to work towards becoming a psychologist. however, placements to do the clinical training etc are very rare and the actual time spent working with patients is minimal, i don't really think it's the sort of job i'm looking for. i've just done a weeks work experience on a psycho-geriatric ward and visited the acute admissions ward there as well and it seems more like the kind of thing i want to do - caring for and working directly with patients. to become a psychiatric nurse you do a nursing degree right? can you specialise straight away in psychiatric nursing or do you have to do general first (bearing in mind i live in england)?

also, i've heard that career advancement oppurtunites in nursing are fairly poor - is this true? is is possible to do a masters degree in psychiatric nursing and if so what positions would this qualify you for? basically, how far can you take a career in psychiatric nursing and what sort of salary would you be earning once you got there?

sorry that this is so long, i basically would appreciate any career advice on psychiatric nursing and information on the degrees available that link to it. any help would be great, thanks for your time!

[*Bekki*]

In the UK you choose a branch of nursing when you apply for a uni course the choices are

- Adult Nursing

- Child Nursing

- Learning Disability Nursing

- Mental Health Nursing

If you look on www.ucas.com you can look at the uni's that offer nursing degrees but make sure they have the option of mental health nursing when you apply. In England all nurses do the common foundation programme in their first year of uni but you do get some clinical placements whilst doing this which will be in the area of your chosen branch. After that you have 2 years of study in your chosen area of nursing which also has a lot of clinical placements. As for masters degree i know that you can do a masters degree although im not sure about how you would do it, but they may prefer candidates to have clinical experince before doing a masters degree but im not sure.

The jobs in nursing. Nurses can advance in their career, you would begin at grade D and then you can work your way up to a grade I. If you specialise within mental health for example with children and adolesants or dementia or substance misuse, then you can work in this area as a nurse consultant or as a nurse practitoner. But to get these jobs it requires several years experience in each specialisation. I have looked on the nursing times website at jobs and the highest salaries that i found were between £38000 - £39000 a year. However most newly qualified nurses are looking at £15000 - £18000 salaries.

Good luck whatever you decide to do anymore questions you could pm me

love Bekki xx