Do psych nurses actually make a difference?

Jules A, MSN · Oct 11, 2009

I love my job on a locked acute unit. There are very few shifts that I feel as if all I have done is push pills and paperwork. Knowing your patients and watching as they get better or start to decline is a huge part of the job. We are an important part of the picture for the physicians who don't spend as much time with the patients as we do. I've never done med-surg nursing but I'd bet we get far more time to talk and interact with our patients than those nurses do. Different facilities have different duties and staffing ratios. I'm hoping that what you saw at clinicals was only a very small snap shot of those nurses' days and consider that having students on the unit only adds to the work load. If I didn't feel I made a difference I wouldn't continue to do it.

DesertKat · Oct 11, 2009

Yes. And no.

There were days when I really helped people and there were days when all I did was be a glorified unit secretary. There are so many elements to the psych setting that, frankly, you could land in a really great place or a really horrid one. But as with all things, you can only do what you can do. In the end, I chose to leave the psych setting because the culture of the hospital I was working at was at intrinsic odds to my personal ethics.

I learned quite a bit during my time as a psych nurse and will always be grateful. If you feel drawn to psych, by all means pursue it. But do it with eyes wide open- advice I would now give regardless of the field your looking into. Talk to the nurses, see how happy they seem- even when towing the company line you can still tell how they feel about their jobs. Look to the patients and see how content they seem about being there.

Good luck.

pinkiepie_RN · Oct 12, 2009

I leave almost every shift with a "thank you" from at least one patient for doing the simplest thing like helping with gathering ADL supplies or doing laundry. I feel like I definitely make a difference in the lives of my patients, even when working 7p-7a. From 7p-11p, I pass meds, manage the milieu, put out fires, and check in with my patients to see how it's going. On night shift from 11p-7a, I will admit that I do alot of paperwork, even more if there's admissions coming through, but no patient sleeps all the way through the night and I get time to interact 1:1 if a patient needs it. I honestly love my job!

aloevera · Oct 12, 2009

HELL YES !!!!!!!!!!! QD !!!!!!!!!!

elkpark · Oct 12, 2009

I've been in psych nursing for a long time, and it's been my experience that the nurses who spend the entire shift in the nurses' station aren't really "stuck" passing meds and doing paperwork (only) -- that's their choice. They don't particularly want to interact with the clients, and they use meds and paperwork as a convenient excuse. I've always managed to spend plenty of time on the floor interacting and intervening with clients -- that's where the "action" is, not back in the nurses' station.

And I know that I've made a significant difference in many people's lives.

tabbysrn · Oct 18, 2009

i've gotta agree with the folks who make time for their patients. it IS easy to get stuck in the nurses' station, but it's also true that those who do so most often aren't prioritizing their time on the floor with their patients. you CAN spend time with your patients, although the techs will, too. that's why i enjoyed being a tech while i was getting my BSN, and i'm glad i spent my first 2.5 years as a new grad doing med-surg, since my psych patients don't leave their COPD, diabetes, etc., at the door of the locked acute unit when they're in psychiatric meltdown.

as for those who've left psych, i can see why. i've just started doing travel nursing in psych, and already i see things that i took for granted at my old unit are not available to patients on other units in other states. but there's still such a chance to make a difference, and i see it every day.

in the end, you need to decide for yourself what's best for you, and one of the best ways to do that can be to work on different units, which having your RN license still makes possible. it used to be that the only jobs new grads could get were on med-surg units, and the experience, just in assessing and communicating with patients, docs and co-workers, made better-rounded nurses. while i didn't enjoy med-surg at the time, i have been eternally grateful for the increased confidence it gave me when i came back "home" to psych.

so, follow your heart, and see where you land - then let the rest of us know how you like it

stephva1008 · Oct 20, 2009

I work with kids and teens and the nurses take turns being "in milieu." We get to do issue work with the kids and be a counselor. So, yes, we make a difference. Even as a charge, you make a difference. It's all how you look at it. You can be a nurse who surfs the net at the computer after her meds are given, or you can be out there on the floor, talking to pts and supporting the counselors.

leovineknight · Oct 22, 2009

Hi there,

Yes, this is the big question. I sometimes wonder if anybody makes any difference to anything (ultimately). My own (UK) view is that modern mental health nursing focuses so much on the individual that we often disconnect the person from their community. We sometimes emphasise patient rights at the expense of patient responsibilities, we stress independence instead of interdependence and finish up with overdependence (state benefit careers, drop-in minority cultures, self-obsessions etc.).

Cheers,

Leo Vine-Knight

Smitty08 · Oct 22, 2009

I have always felt I was able to make a difference in patient's lives working in psych. Working inpatient as an RN, YES! And often at a time in a person's life when they really may be desperate. Not that there are not frustrations! Now, as a prescriber in an advanced practice role, I also truly feel that I help people. If I did not think that, I'm not sure I could do what I do every day. I feel I made a great career choice and love what I do...

aloevera · Oct 22, 2009

I feel that I have helped many pts. during my time in psych.........listening to them is a major part of being there and really helping them..........

sure, we must spend some time at the desk with paperwork and discharges, etc..but the majority of my time is spent out on the floor doing assessments and interacting with my pts..........

EarthChild1130 · Nov 6, 2009

I feel that I have helped a lot of people who might have otherwise not been helped, both inpatient and outpatient.

There were some folks who never left the desk, and that was them. I did my assessments, charted, then went to the floor...I did everything from organizing 'American Idol' night for a group (not my choice LOL) to playing checkers with one patient for a LONG time (after which he decided I was 'safe' to talk to), in addition to the meds, crisis situations, etc...those things DO make a difference. I think some of it depends on where you work, but a lot of it depends on the individual nurse.