Finding Jobs...

stephva1008 · Jun 1, 2009

I wouldn't say any harder than any other type of nursing job. Every hospital I worked at had vacancies across the board. You could always pursue residential facilities, detox, and state/VA hospitals as well. I don't think you'll have much of a problem. I would recommend doing a year in med-surg to find your feet with the medical end but some folks go right into psych no problem.

amphigouri · Jun 8, 2009

Thank you very much! Sorry for the late reply. :]

I've been thinking of doing a year in medsurg first, even though it's not really what I want to do, but at least that way I know I can get a job if anything ever goes wrong in my psych job later down the road rather than being "denied" for being a psych nurse only. Thanks!

Orca, ADN, ASN, RN · Jun 9, 2009

A piece of advice, from one who has been there: Don't start out in mental health right out of nursing school. I took a job on an adult psych/CD unit fresh out of school. I worked that job for four years, relocated and wound up on the geropsych unit at a standalone mental health facility. The parent company shut us down, throwing a bunch of people out of work. No hospital would hire me because all my experience was in mental health, and there weren't enough vacant mental health jobs to absorb all the people laid off. At one point I thought I would have to relocate just to get a job. I received unemployment benefits for three months (and try living on that once you have had an RN salary). I finally caught on with a rehab hopsital (physical rehab, not drug rehab), and gained skills that opened more doors.

Jumping into psych right away causes you to be typecast, which is fine if you never want to do anything else. However, I'm a believer in leaving as many doors open as possible, because I never know what the future holds.