How to do mental health nursing?

Commander Vimes · Mar 3, 2004

i hate social worker do goody types, get a proper job become a nurse.

CDN RN · Mar 8, 2004

Oh My God!!!

I would reply....but I seem to have forgotten how to speak!

Oh yeah...that's right....type and words appear ........

Obviously someone has just completed a degree program in I am Better than You or someother such thing and forgotten that a team requires more than one player eh? Last time I checked "multi disciplinary" teams weren't just made of social workers........

If you are this rude to your coworkers......MY GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOUR PATIENTS!!!! .......(thinking before speaking often helps too!)

PLease have a nice day and pray you never need the care of a good psych nurse......but if you ever should...we will be here for you.

Duane

CDN RN · Mar 8, 2004

Maybe it's a that I just got in from a long long long 12 hour shift in my ER...but things got heated there for a minute didn't they?

Dianna...if your situation at work is getting that troublesome then you really do need to make a plan to deal with it, both personally and professionally. I have been through many problems both inside and outside the pysch units, problem is if we as professionals let these experiences color our vision we become very ineffective with our patients. You seem to want positive change, that is to be applauded....but an attitude that immediately comes across as anti-team will not make the situation better. Creative solutions are often difficult to find...and the thought of spending time finding creative solutions to deal with co-workers may often seem like wasting time that could be spent with patients...but we are all human...patients and staff. Communication often works with patients....and is often the best tool with co-staff too.......listening to what is not said is the hardest communication lesson I have ever had to learn........

Duane

a-rose · Mar 8, 2004

Thanks all!

I like any view from everyone.

My thread is too abroad indeed, because I want to know many many from you. And then you could say something you want to say. Such as sorriness, depression, dread etc. some mental problems in some disease. When you find a patient has it, how do you help her or him to get rid of the psychological problems ?

:) :)

Commander Vimes · Mar 8, 2004

RNs should not be prescribing medication

Why not prey tell, we do in UK if we have done the nurse prescribing module!

we have found that we are in the best position to know the Patient and to prescribe accordingly, we have been advising the poor doctors for years.

Katnip, RN · Mar 8, 2004

Hello A-Rose. I'm not a psych nurse, but I still remember my pshyiatric classes pretty well.

In the U.S. we have a system to diagnose someone's mental illness. Treating mental disorders is very complex. It's not like throwing a few antibiotics into someone to cure pneumonia, because each person has a different background and a different cause of his or her crisis.

Often a person may have more than one type of disorder, making treatment even more complex.

If a person shows potential of harming himself or someone else, that patient is usually sent to a treatment facility or the psychiatric unit of a hospital for very close observation. People can be treated on an out-patient basis, though these folks tend to be not as severe as those who are hospitalized.

There are several types of treatments, medication, talk therapy, and sometimes electroshock therapy. They can be used individually or in combination, depending on what is needed.

Psych nurses learn to use the *therapeutic use of self* to help patients. This means actively listening to a patient, being nonjudgmental (all nurses are supposed to use this) and use behavioral modification to help a patient. Listening is a very important part of working with a patient.

Inpatient facilities use a wide number of professionals to help with treatment of patients. Off the top of my head, I think of doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, teachers, and social workers. Each has a role in helping the patient improve his or her life to the point getting back into the world and leading a productive life. This is, unfortunately, not possible for every person.

Working in an acute care facility where a person may be depressed because of a physical diagnosis is a little different, because nurses are not there primarily for psychiatric reasons. However, listening to the patient very carefully can give the nurse clues as to whether the patient just has a temporary problem or needs further follow up care for depression or anxiety.

Trying to *cheer* a patient up is not a good idea. Respect how they feel, and above all, just listen.

a-rose · Mar 9, 2004

Thank you very much!

"system to diagnose someone's mental illness"?

Yes, listening is a very important part of working with a patient.

Maybe there are some different mental problems on the different patient in the different sickroom. Such as, someone is scared to operation, children are afraid to give or take an injection, someone in terminally ill get dread to die..... As a nurse, how help them to ease clear up the psychological pain?

mad bunny · Mar 9, 2004

Hold on to your horses!

I think if you catch hold of your tails, and interpret things as you should and not jump to conclusions, you might read that diana-42431 was actually advocating for specialist interventions. I mean, come on a post like, How to do mental nursing!!!

If you want to get indignant, as far as psychiatric nursing is involved go to Canada. They refuse to acknowledge the specialist training involved, of foreign (U.K.) nurses. I'm very well qualified, yet cannot even work as a P.S.W, without further training.

Insofar as the posting of how to do mental nursing, can be interpreted two ways, it's either a joke, or it's a caring individual nurse, trying to endorse the notion of holistic care.

Diana-42431, i do trust thats what you were implying, as i do not wish to put words into anybody's mouths. Having said that, as a good psychiatric specialist G grade nursing sister (u.k.) that I am, not normally wrong.

People see the irony there before you jump to conclusions!!

Love and light.

prmenrs, RN · Mar 9, 2004

Please, can we keep this thread on track? a-rose deserves as much help as we can give her. Thanks, everyone.

CliveUK · Mar 9, 2004

I think a-rose is talking about psychological problems rather than diagnosed mental illnesses.

However, I would say the first thing you need to do with both is to listen to the patient and work with their perspective of their problems. A psychiatric diagnosis doesn't tell you how to nurse that person; in fact it tells you very little about them.

suzanne4, RN · Mar 9, 2004

A-Rose: nice to see you posting again. Hope that you are enjoying your classes. I am planning on being down to where you are sometime next week. I will send you a PM as soon as I know my dates.

For all of you that are not aware: China's teaching of psychiatric disorders depends on where and when you went to school. To this day there are some programs that do not include psychiatric training as part of their regular curriculum as we do. The same thing here in Thailand, it is taught, but there are only 2 psych hospitals in Bangkok, and one in Chiang Mai. And this country has over 60 million in population. Things are very different on this side of the world. Sure the problems are there, but they are not necessarily treated in the hospitals, or receive any treatment for that matter. So, it can be hard for some of the nurses to actually gain the experience that we do. They only can get much of the info from books and from reading. And from posting questions to us.

Hope that this helps to straighten out any misconceptions.

Katnip, RN · Mar 9, 2004

Ok, now that I'm clear on more of what A-Rose is asking, maybe I can help.

When you're dealing with a patient who is having difficulty accepting a diagnosis, or is afraid of a procedure, the most important thing is still to listen to them.

Sometimes all it takes is for a person to be able to talk about their fears, and they can learn to deal with them on their own.

One of the worst things you can do is promise *everything will be just fine,* because it might not be.

I've been in the room with a young patient who was given a diagnosis of cancer with probably mets to the bone. As soon as the doctore left, the patient looked at me and ask, *does this mean I'm going to die?* I most certainly couldn't tell her that she would be fine. But we talked, well she mostly talked and asked some questions. I answered what I could, but was honest when I was unsure.

Sometimes just being there with a friendly hand to hold is all it takes. Some people will be so anxious or upset about something that there's not much you can do.

In the end, all you can do is your best.