fearing for my license at a dangerous psych facility

Guest296136 · Nov 19, 2011

Get out now!!!!! I had a friend that worked in such a facility and everyone was afraid to speak up but when the state came in, many lost their jobs or were suspended for unsafe patient care. No place is worth losing your license.

RNfor918 · Dec 4, 2011

An update on this- I did resign from this position. I think my post was a vent when I already knew what needed to be done. I had been playing a lot of "what ifs" with myself- "what if I need to be the one to help change this place" "what if I am not being strong enough and all places are like this", etc. In the end, I couldn't keep going to a place that gave me such a pit in my stomach. I feared for the patients and my license constantly. No money is worth that fear. Whew- its over.

Guest296136 · Dec 4, 2011

You made the right decision!!!!! Best of luck with your next position, don't let this discourage you in anyway.:)

NPAlby · Feb 11, 2012

Just wondered since you quit the facility if you can now name it. I'm a psych NP and wonder about these stand alone psych facilities in AZ. I'm from NY and having a difficult time adjusting to the diffent mental health laws. I constantly feel like I can't get the help my patients need.

I joined this forum today wanting to vent my frustrations, fears and warnings about a local behavioral health center. I'm afraid to say the name. At this stand alone behavioral health center, we have adolescent, adult SMI and Chemical Dependency units. This place is flat out dangerous. I fear for my RN license each shift I work. Has anybody ever felt like this working in a local psych facility?

Kabin · Feb 14, 2012

Mental health has become very challenging in AZ. I know more from the practitioner side. Psych teams are dysfunctional, unable to support each other, some team members are confused about roles, crises are the norm, unstable walk-ins need to be seen on the spot even though your schedule is full, and management is unable to correct issues.

At times, psych practitioners wonder what the nurses are doing. Practitioners are entering patient meds into the computer (that's an MD doing data entry), Magellan has out-patient practitioners taking patient BP readings and measuring abdomen girth. And then AZ psych out-patient practitioner charting is over the top with minimal time to do visit notes, monthly charting, annual charting, and charting for court hearings. You need to take work home to keep up. Aside from the risks to your license, it'll suck the life out of you. Many out-patient psychiatrists are only doing it part time.

GalRN · Feb 17, 2012

To the OP- Did the hopsital's name begin with the letter A? Because I left a facility that begins with that letter in 11/10 and will not go back through the registry I work for now. They were changing documentation after the fact, among many other things....