Why did you choose to become a psych nurse?

Specialties Psychiatric

Published

Hi, I'm currently a sophomore in college and was recently drawn to psych nursing because of my passion for helping the disabled and being able to hold more than just a counseling role. Going by personality tests, I'd perform well in careers like social worker and physical therapist. These are great, but I think I'd get bored after a few years. Being that I'm currently taking classes, time in dwindling down for me to finally decide on a major. Getting a BSN in nursing and eventually becoming an NP seems like it would be a rewarding career and suit my personality. From what I've read, no two days are the same. But it also seems like a good amount of people want to switch specialties after a few years. I don't like talking about myself but it seems the nurses on here always ask younger people why they're interested in nursing.

My question for you is, when did you realize psych nursing/nursing in general was right for you? And if you're currently looking to get out of the field, why? Please don't hesitate to be as honest as possible. Thanks

Specializes in Psych.

A free standing psychiatric hospital offered me my first nursing job and thus, a psych nurse was born. I'm in my 4th year of working in psych and I really like it. I can see myself sticking with this specialty until I retire. I did not plan to do this when I was in nursing school. I adored med surg and fully expected to spend a few years at least building my basic nursing skills there. Are there are other areas of nursing that interest you? One of the reasons I wanted to be a nurse was because I could jump around to different areas and it wouldn't be frowned on.

I could see myself in trauma or pediatrics maybe. If you don't mind me asking, do you feel like you connect with your patients or is it more of an all business relationship?

Specializes in ER.
A free standing psychiatric hospital offered me my first nursing job and thus, a psych nurse was born. I'm in my 4th year of working in psych and I really like it. I can see myself sticking with this specialty until I retire. I did not plan to do this when I was in nursing school. I adored med surg and fully expected to spend a few years at least building my basic nursing skills there. Are there are other areas of nursing that interest you? One of the reasons I wanted to be a nurse was because I could jump around to different areas and it wouldn't be frowned on.

May I ask what kind of psych nurse? Hospital? Institution? I was offered a job to switch from ER to psych but don't know enough to know what I am getting into.

Specializes in Psych.
I could see myself in trauma or pediatrics maybe. If you don't mind me asking, do you feel like you connect with your patients or is it more of an all business relationship?

Oh, I connect just fine and definitely prefer it that way (though I have yet to get a paranoid psychotic patient to connect with me in the first few days -- which doesn't mean I don't try). I also work really hard to find the things that motivate that patient and share it with all the other staff. If there are severe personality disorders, then I am more businesslike so they don't misread the boundaries. They misread them anyway, but it's a little clearer for the other patients that I am not giving the personality disorder folks special privileges. One of my favorite lines when they are attempting to wheedle me into giving them pain meds too soon or some other typical outrageous request is, "No, I like my job and I like my license." Not a one has ever pushed it farther.

Livingdeadnurse, I have only been in locked hospital inpatient units. Some patients are brought in by police, a few are walk-ins, and the majority have been medically cleared at an ER after a suicide attempt. There's a lot of anger because "the ER said I would only be here 3 days" and the typical stay is 7-10 days. Sadly, there are a lot of frequent fliers as well, so I don't always have the advantage of being nice and knowing they will go away soon. I do a fair bit of wound care for self-inflicted damage and you would see the typical spread of chronic medical issues, like diabetes and asthma. Lots of substance abuse in my patients. Also, you would be putting patients in restraints and seclusion from time to time. Despite all the weirdness, I really enjoy it. No two days are alike and I get to see marked improvement from admit to discharge. There is a ton of teaching involved and you get to test the upper limits of your patience. Any chance you could stay PRN at your current job and dip your toe in the psych waters?

Specializes in ER.

I was thinking about doing that but my job is 12s and this new one is 8's. I would be second shift working in the admission ward. I like staying busy. I would be taking care of the most of the same patients I sent here from my current job in the Er

Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

It was between this and a PCU. PCU was 12-hour shifts, psych was 8-hour shifts. I had a four-year old at the time and I didn't want him in childcare for 14+ hour stretches, so I took the psych job with the intention of moving to med-surg or another specialty in a year. Then I fell in love with psych and the rest is history.

Specializes in NICU, Pediatrics, Psych.

I have just accepted a job as a psych nurse at an inpatient facility. I am very excited about it. I have done NICU and peds. I feel like my family situation has prepared me some what. My mother was depressive, I have two siblings who are bipolar with psychotic episodes and a sister in the late stages of dementia. Any advice would be appreciated!

Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
I have just accepted a job as a psych nurse at an inpatient facility. I am very excited about it. I have done NICU and peds. I feel like my family situation has prepared me some what. My mother was depressive, I have two siblings who are bipolar with psychotic episodes and a sister in the late stages of dementia. Any advice would be appreciated!

While your experiences with your family can be a good resource for you to draw on, keep in mind that everyone is different, and those same disorders in your patients may follow very different courses. Just because your mother/siblings are a certain way or responded to a certain medication or perceive their illnesses in a certain light, doesn't mean your patients are going to do the same. Nor can you force them to.

I fell into Psych nursing right out of nursing school. I had sent out 100's of resume's and this one, little, free-standing Psych Hospital, was the only call I received in response to my application.

Funny thing, when I was in nursing school doing my Psych rotation, I SWORE up and down I wasn't EVER going to be a psych nurse. Now 3 years out, I've dipped my toes into Med/Surge for 8 miserable months and went running back to Psych.

I discovered that not only is Psych nursing a rewarding field (you can see a completely different person from admit to discharge), it is for the most part a fun field. That's not to say that it isn't one of the most dangerous fields of nursing out there, because your patients can turn on you in a nanosecond and if they are deep in their psychosis, they will hurt you without even realizing that they are doing so. Psych nursing isn't for everyone. I have seen more nurses leave Psych nursing within their first 2 months than any other field.

If you don't have a thick skin, and aren't unable to laugh off some one telling you that your fat, ugly, stupid, and the list goes on, then maybe psych nursing isn't for you. Because you will be called everything but what you are, in some very creative ways and you have to be able to remain calm and continue therapeutic communication and education with a patient who can't stand the sight of you at that moment.

All that being said, you will never, ever be bored, you will never have 2 days that are the same. You might not get the skills that you would as a NICU, ED, Med/Surge, etc., nurse, but you will gain a set of skills that most people wish they had. The ability to deal calmly with the most violent of patients and be able to calm them down at the same time.

You will deal with patients from all walks of life from the very, very rich to the extremely poor and homeless, but we must be our patient's advocate, because out of all the patients in acute care hospitals, psych patients are really the ones who can't speak for themselves, even when they are taking their meds and doing well because of the stigma that is placed on them for having a Psych diagnosis. Even in this "enlightened" day and age, a Psych diagnosis can still cost a person their job, marriage, access to their children, etc.

So before anyone jumps on the Psych bandwagon, and none of this was to discourage you by any means, because, here at least, we are seeing a shortage of qualified psych nurses, think long and hard about whether you can work 12 hour shifts with patients being rude and abusive because you don't have their "meds"; being sexually inappropriate because they have no clue at the moment what appropriate boundaries are, getting water thrown in your face when you offer a patient medications when they don't want to take them, having to be creative to get said patients to take their meds when "all I take is a baby aspirin". The list goes on. But, if you find that all of this sounds interesting and highly entertaining, by all means, come on down! We'd love to have you.

Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
Mental Chess....

Great metaphor- Mental Chess!

I, too, am attracted to Psychiatric Nursing for the same reason as Mr. ChicagoRN- thinking of your next move with a Patient, reacting to their next move, but always being mentally several moves ahead.

Psychiatric Patients tend to be much more interesting than your Average Bear.

However, I did not actually choose Psych Nursing. Psych Nursing chose me. I've told My Story several times here on these forums, and to repeat it would be a bore.

Let's just suffice ot to say that it was Zen, Fate, and My Calling!

Quotes from:

https://allnurses.com/psychiatric-nursing/why-did-you-897937.html

Hi there,

Has anyone worked for Brunswick Psychiatric Hospital on Long Island, or any of the Psych facilities on Long Island and share their experiences.

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