Anyone work in a gero/psych unit?

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I'm interviewing Tuesday for a night-shift position in a senior behavior unit. What sort of things should I be looking for/asking when I talk with the manager? The hospital itself has a great reputation but I don't know anything about the unit. It's 16 beds, 4 private. I currently work prn in an emotional health unit of another hospital (mostly detox and depression); occupational health is my 'real' job. I love psych, though, which is why I'm considering the FT position.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Psych.

Suggest you read the recent thread Medical GeroPsych??:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f46/medical-geripsych-320397.html

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Yeah, thanks. That's good stuff there; I was part of the thread. This isn't a medical gero/psych unit, per se, more a dementia-/depression-stabilization unit, I think. I'll find out Tuesday. I guess I'm looking for interview-type pearls of wisdom this time, particularly related to night shift.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Psych.

Guess I read your post too fast and responded based on the title of the thread. If it's interviewing type stuff you're looking for, here's what I would want to know.

Staffing ratios - How many pts per nurse?

Support staff & their duties

Teamwork

Documentation requirements

Typical # of admissions per shift (& how long they take)

How often do seclusion/restraints tend to be used?

Process for dealing with emergencies

MD availability on nights

Scheduling styles - Self-scheduling? Weekends? Holidays?

Managerial style

Safety issues - How are patients monitored? Do patients stay in their rooms or the sleep wing during the night, or are they allowed to wander the facility?

Since you said there are 16 patients on the unit, I imagine there will be 1-2 nurses on night shift. I personally would not be comfortable being the only nurse, but other psych nurses do work that way.

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I've been thinking of questions and appreciate your list. You've hit the big ones for sure: teamwork and scheduling style. And no way I'd be the only RN, although I've seen it done, too.

Do you work with gero/psych patients?

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Psych.

No, I do not work with gero psych patients. But I did work a few shifts on the gero/psych unit of a hospital, and I also worked on the gero psych unit of a hospital when I was a MHW while in nursing school.

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It's different, for sure.

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