Do past experiences affect you in clinical?

[Sweetberry]

i'm going to psych in january, and i'm kinda nervous. i used to have an eating disorder and i used to cut myself. i am still being treated for them. my clinical rotation is at the same hospital as i was inpatient at, but in a different unit (adult psych, instead of adolescent).

i'm wondering if anyone else has had experience similar to this, and how it has worked out. i'm worried that being in this setting will be too much like being a patient and that i won't be able to deal with it, therefore resorting back to past past bad behaviors. anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

thanks.

[BarbPick]

Do you know what shirley temple's mother told her prior to any performance? She said "Sparkle Shirley". And Shirley Temple went out and dazzled them.

You will do just fine. You will focus on your pateints and study for your classes and all your goodness will shine through, You'll see

Barbara

[LilgirlRN, ADN, RN]

Have you talked to your therapist about this? Is there anyway you could do your clinical in another hospital. When I was in school they had us spread out in different hospitals. If you feel that this situation is unsafe for you, if it's going to make you feel like you need to cut yourself then by all means don't do it. Your sanity is at stake. Talk to your therapist and see what he/she thinks, then decide what to do. If you can get enough support before hand, if you do run into a problem and have a plan to deal with it then maybe you can go ahead and do this without having to worry so much about it. Best of luck. Wendy :)

[wonderbee, BSN, RN]

You're not going to know for sure until you're actually in the setting. You might speak with your treating professionals about this if you're feeling a lot of anxiety about it. It might be good to talk through the fears so that you feel well equipped to handle the situation when it is presented. Most likely you will focus on how best to serve your client.

[LauraLou]

Sweetberry,

I too had an eating disorder and was inpatient for 2 months. Unfortunately this was before the era of separate units for eating disorder patients and I was with people with all sorts of mental illnesses.

It was the most horrible experience of my life. The first day I was there I saw three orderlies tackle a patient, put him in a straight jacket and drag him into a room at the end of the hall. He stayed in that room the entire time I was there. If you walked by, you could see his face through the little window. To this day, the thought of his drugged eyes staring out of that window haunts me.

Even though I live in another state now and won't be at that hospital, and I am also very nervous about walking back into a psychiatric hopsital. Actually, I am terrified. I just keep telling myself that was almost 20 years ago and things have changed and so have I.

Please let me know how you do next semester. I will be anxious to hear what your experience was like and how you dealt with it.

I will be thinking of you.

[shape0fmyheart]

I was inpatient in a psychiatric hospital as well and I know that I couldn't handle going back to the same one, even if for clinicals. We're going to a totally different hospital for psych but I'm still nervous that it might be too much for me. Like someone else said, I think it might help to talk to your therapist and see what they suggest. And also remember that you are stronger than those problems from the past, you overcame them which is VERY hard to do, and you can keep fighting them. This is what I try to remind myself of... :)