CNA in State Psych Hospital

Bruce_Wayne, ASN, RN · Dec 21, 2010

I have a close friend that did that job but for a private company, not a state place. From what I hear the state places can be a little rough and prison-like. I've also heard it can be dangerous. But that's all hearsay, maybe somebody with actually experience can pipe in.

yousoldtheworld · Dec 21, 2010

I don't know what her daily routine is, but a good friend of mine works at the state hospital here, and she loves it. There is generally a lot less ADL care, as most of the patients are (mostly) independent, at least physically. As such, it's much less physical.

I know people tend to think "oh, psych ward/facility, yikes", but remember that people are there for all kinds of reasons, and most aren't necessarily violent. My friend told me that she has fewer combative patients there than she ever did in the nursing home we both worked at. The areas that have violent patients tend to be more staffed. You will (or at least should) receive extra training on dealing with those patients.

I've also read some people on various parts of this board talking about how much they love working in psych...in fact, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say "Man, my job in mental health sucks" like I have just about every other area of nursing. If I were you, I'd go for it and see.

LaterAlligator · Dec 22, 2010

I'm in the "don't know but would love to find out too" camp. I work in assistedliving for dementia, and occasionally one of our residents will go to our state psych hospital for a short observation and med tweaking if they're having issues. It seems to work well & they usually come back on track to be less combative but not zonked out either, which I find really impressive.

I would love to hear what a day as a mental health tech is like!