Almost new grad who wants to work in psych--advice please!

Rockclimbingnurse · Apr 15, 2013

Of course you should try. I'm a new grad working in psych, and I work with other new grads. You should not have to start out in med-surg especially if that is not what you want to do. I will caution you that not many new grads get their specialty of choice as their first job. I was lucky that psych was one of my top choices. By the way, I absolutely LOVE my job!

Music in My Heart · Apr 15, 2013

If you can get yourself hired into a large ER, you will get tons of psych experience - particularly if you actually request to work with those patients.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Apr 19, 2013

1. You do not need a year of med-surg first to have a successful psych nursing career. It can't hurt at all, but it is in no way mandatory. IMO, a passion and interest in psych will go as far (if not more) towards getting a psych job--and being successful in it--as "serving time" in another speciality first would.

2. New grads can and do get hired in psych. It can be a tough learning curve but it is doable. So if you have a chance to go straight into psych right after graduation, go for it! If you don't land in full-time psych right away, gain some work experience and try again, or try to get in via part-time/PRN first and go from there. And do what you can to boost your chances: volunteer work, psych preceptorship, join APNA, start on some psych CEUs, etc.

CrimsonAlchemist · Apr 22, 2013

I landed a job in an acute inpatient geropsych unit and I'm a new grad. It' very possible! I love it. I rarely enjoyed my medsurg rotations. Loved the psychosocial aspect. Just wanted to say that it is possible.

AndyBRN · Apr 23, 2013

I'll tell you from my experience.

Graduated June 2011 from BScN program (I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada).

Landed full time job in a large teaching hospital right out of school. Part of Ontario's New Graduate Guarantee Initiative to get new grads full time jobs. Have been working this job for 2 years almsot now.

6 months ago (roughly 1.5 years into career) I interviewed for a casual medicine job in CCC. Easily offered me the job and thought my psych experience was an asset.

All in all, you CAN get a medicine job easily. ANYONE can be taught manual skills. Being in any environment for a while, you will learn the routine and critical thinking. Besides, who wants to do something so task-oriented and robotic as medical bedside nursing? Haha!

Anyways...you can get a job on medical floors in the future if you want too. Keep your learning up with post-graduate cont. ed. courses such as coronary care, etc. Your psych skills will come in handy on any medical floor, because mental health issues are pervasive in ALL populations. Also, you will get medical experience on inpatient psychiatric units. MANY psych patients have medical issues/comorbidities. Antipsychotics cause tremendous issues with metabolic abnormality, resulting in diabetes, CAD, etc. Psych patients still require things like IVs, blood work, ECG, catheters, wound care, you name it.

Besides, it all comes back you anyways But you don't need medical experience prior to starting in psych.

lynds80 · Jun 1, 2013

I'll tell you from my experience.
Graduated June 2011 from BScN program (I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada).
Landed full time job in a large teaching hospital right out of school. Part of Ontario's New Graduate Guarantee Initiative to get new grads full time jobs. Have been working this job for 2 years almsot now.
6 months ago (roughly 1.5 years into career) I interviewed for a casual medicine job in CCC. Easily offered me the job and thought my psych experience was an asset.
All in all, you CAN get a medicine job easily. ANYONE can be taught manual skills. Being in any environment for a while, you will learn the routine and critical thinking. Besides, who wants to do something so task-oriented and robotic as medical bedside nursing? Haha!
Anyways...you can get a job on medical floors in the future if you want too. Keep your learning up with post-graduate cont. ed. courses such as coronary care, etc. Your psych skills will come in handy on any medical floor, because mental health issues are pervasive in ALL populations. Also, you will get medical experience on inpatient psychiatric units. MANY psych patients have medical issues/comorbidities. Antipsychotics cause tremendous issues with metabolic abnormality, resulting in diabetes, CAD, etc. Psych patients still require things like IVs, blood work, ECG, catheters, wound care, you name it.
Besides, it all comes back you anyways But you don't need medical experience prior to starting in psych.

Thank you for posting this I totally agree! Task orientated sums up a medical floor!! Maybe that's why I hate med surg and love psych. I do hear a lot that I won't be marketable in the future cuz I'm a psych nurse... Whatever that's the only part of nursing that I feel comfortable with. I hated med surg...

Psychcns · Jun 1, 2013

I did my year and one half of med surg in the beginning and 30 years later I have always been able to find psych jobs...

lynds80 · Jun 2, 2013

Hi there,
I graduate in a few months with my ADN. I definitely don't want to work in traditional nursing and psych and counseling have always been my interest. Most people tell you that you must get a job in med-surg for at least a year as a new nurse and then pursue specialties or you are not as desireable to prospective employees in those respective specialties--but is that REALLY true? I know I want to work psych in nursing and not anything else, so wouldn't it be wise to just try to get a job in a psych facility off the bat? Advice, please, and thank you.

If you know psych is the only thing you want to do don't go into med surg, unless you have too. My first position was psych and I really enjoyed it!