How easy is it for a new grad to land a job in a psych setting?

[mell260]

In general, would you say it is easier for a new RN to find work at a psych hospital or on a basic med/surg floor?

[Babs0512]

No, absolutely not. IMHO, a new grad needs some real life experience at being a nurse. Even starting out on a med surg floor, you will learn to be organized, prioritize, work on perfecting assessment skills, getting to know meds, dealing with crashing patients, putting together all that book smarts into real life situations - isn't easy. If you love psyc nursing, then apply after a couple of years of med surg.

Psyc patients can have multiple co-morbidities - psyc patients can bottom out their blood sugar (who's going to know what to do, who's going to get that IV in to give D50?) Psyc patients can have MI's which can manifest in many different ways - what if their only complaint is a toothache - will you know how to assess them properly and completely without some experience? I'm going to say "NO" - Psyc patients can go into DKA, Thyroid storm, Myxedema coma or sudden cardiac death - will you know how to handle it and assess these patients properly? Will you know how to put symptoms together with meds? Will you know how to gather all the data before you call the physician and organize it? Will you be able to write a short, accurate progress note that covers the entire crisis? "No'. Trust me dear - been a nurse for 20 years.

I've responded to codes on the Psyc unit where the RN's didn't know how to do these things - and the patient died as a result. Do yourself and the patients a favor - LEARN, hone your skills, make your mistakes and learn from them - do it before going into a non-clinical area - because your patients deserve that much.

Blessings and good luck to you

[Rnurse 2008, ASN]

I think it really depends where you live or where you feel you will be strongest as a nurse. Where I am from, med surg jobs are non existant if you are a new grad and it's much easier to get psych.

If you can get the med surg job, do that and get some experience there first as the other in the other comment. If you have no choice then do psych. If you have a choice it depends on your preference. I work at an acute psych hospital started as a new grad in psych at the state hospital and yes our patients have medical problems, but there is always help from more experienced nurses, the dr's etc. Also, since we are not at a medical hospital we transport our patients to the nearby hospital for codes or chest pain etc after our assessments as long as you know the basics of stabilizing a pt like assessing, VS, administering oxygen, s/s of hypoglycemia. Then you will do fine in whatever you choose.

I had some nurses from the regular hospitals transport pt's still agitated and hostile because they don't want to deal or didn't know how to deal with that behavior. They would keep important information from us like pts being on restraints, not medicating them and it really puts my staff in jepordy when we recieve the pts are are assaultive or suicidal. So it goes hand in hand. Their is a reason nurses have their own specialties so whatever you choose I know you will be a great nurse. GOOD LUCK.

[jesln76]

A psych hospital was my first RN job. After I had my psych clinicals there I applied as a

nursing tech. I worked as a tech for a few months until I graduated nursing school and worked there as an RN.

[vikkirn]

Way to easy if you ask me. Where I work it's about bodies and it's a tuff place to work. I'm seasoned and I still suck at it.