How does a psych career affect the psych nurses?

[malusport]

I have a question regarding how does a psych career affect the psych nurses. I mean, since this is all pretty much mental, does it affect psych nurses?

Let me know your thoughts........please only comments from people that have actually done or are doing a psych nursing....

[Meraki]

On the plus side...

It has greatly increased my awareness and understanding of why people act the way they do, it has broadened my definition of mental health / illness to see it as a mental counterpart to physical health (where you can have a cold or have cancer and still be considered ill)

It has given me a greater sense of empathy for people and the ability to listen and relate on a more meaningful level.

It has taught me to not take things personally, to realize that pretty much all of what people vent and do is about them and not me!

It has given me the opportunity to work in a great tightly knit team where trust and dependency are vital or someone can get hurt.

On the not so great side...

It has at times started to make me feel like the whole world is messed up and that everyone has a mental illness and no one is truly functional. I forget that there are scads of happy, functional folks out there.

I start to get numb to the stories and needs of my patients and families. To them, what is one of the most difficult events of their lives becomes to me "5th one this week" and I feel nothing really despite their obvious pain. My responses start to become predictable and generic.

Overall...

The balance for me is knowing my limits, I can't work full time on the floor. If I do my sleep suffers and my own mental health suffers. Part time for me is perfect and I take a lot of holidays. I have also gotten out of the field entirely for a year here and there to regain perspective but I always feel the pull and go back!

[againmlg]

i'm currently in my third year of psych nursing on an inpatient community acute care facility. i've working in several other areas of nursing....but psych is very different for me than the other areas.

nursing as a general profession is draining...but for ME, psych nursing is challenging me in ways other areas have not.

i've found i'm a better listener. not only do i have to hear what the person is saying, i also have to hear what they are NOT saying and try to determine what is really going on. because of this i've become a better communicator/listener/helper/friend.

i understand now the devastating toll mental illness takes on people and families. but i've also seen people rise above--people who refused to allow their mental illness define who they were.

i'm a much more cynical person now. i've been lied to, manipulated, and tested by the best of 'em. i don't like this part of psych nursing. i don't like being skeptical of people and their motives, but i feel if i had NOT learned this, i would not survive in psych.

i am an assertive person after working in psych. people do not take advantage of me any more......i've seen first hand what could happen if you allow people to walk all over you. i have no problem telling it like it is.....and i have no problem confronting people who need confronting.

i've learned what real teamwork is in regards to nursing. when i am working night with just two female mental health workers and a full unit of clients, i know my safety lies in my MHW's hands. we work as a team....look out for each other....and have to trust each other.

these are the things that come to mind. i do think working in psych has changed me. some negatives, some positives.....but for me, the positives outweigh the negatives.

Thanks for the thoughtful answer justjill. Lots of good info in this thread. Thanks to all posters.

[CABEAU]

I have been a Psyche Nurse for many years now, some of the things I have learned,

1." The patient is the expert in their illness, so listen to them. ( no 2 presentations are the same).

2. Team work is important!!!!!

3. Develope a sense of humour, remember that people are unwell so don't take what they say personally.

4. You don't have to put up with Bull sh1t, Tell people how it is, but you don't have to be rude.

5. No matter how bad the situation, treat people with respect ( remember they are unwell)

6. Also give people choices

[little black cat]

I need to have a life outside of work, and leave work at work. When I was a mental health worker, we would staff the groups. We used to joke that we benefited from the therapy, too.

[aloevera]

I noticed many posts stessed teamwork...that is such an integral part of the mental health team...unfortunately I have a very uncooperative med nurse working with me now...I have changed days and am now with her and she is making my life miserable...if I ask her to get a PRN ready when I see a pt. escalating, or if I ask her if she gave such and such a PRN she glares at me...I have tried being nice, that only makes her nastier...I just don't know how to handle the situation...I have asked her a question and her reply is "Don't question me, I do what I am suppose to do"....excuse the ramble but I have just got off 3-12's and am very weary....thanks for letting me vent...other staff members seems to be afraid of her and are now shunning me...

[medsurgrnco, BSN, RN]

I noticed many posts stessed teamwork...that is such an integral part of the mental health team...unfortunately I have a very uncooperative med nurse working with me now...I have changed days and am now with her and she is making my life miserable...if I ask her to get a PRN ready when I see a pt. escalating, or if I ask her if she gave such and such a PRN she glares at me...I have tried being nice, that only makes her nastier...I just don't know how to handle the situation...I have asked her a question and her reply is "Don't question me, I do what I am suppose to do"....excuse the ramble but I have just got off 3-12's and am very weary....thanks for letting me vent...other staff members seems to be afraid of her and are now shunning me...

Aloevera, I'm wondering if this med nurse feels overwhelmed with the number of meds she's giving and possibly feels that you are questioning her ability to do her work when you ask about PRN meds. Maybe try a softer approach? (Hard sometimes when you just want to pass on info and move on to another task. I tend to be concise myself.) We have great teamwork between the nurses where I work, but divide up the work differently at our facility than at yours. It's a bit awkward when I work with staff I don't know which has been occurring more lately due to PRN nurses and new travellers. Since I'm charge nurse then as well, I feel I need to inform them of info, be more available for questions, and watch their work at a level I don't with regular staff.

[CABEAU]

In The unit I manage we do not have an allocated medications nurse. We work on the premise that the nurse who has been allocated the patient dipenses the medication including prn. If some one notices that a patient is becoming agitated they will inform the allocated nurse so that they can assess and deal with the situation. This is the model we use and this works well for us. Maybe your particular nurse has never worked with the model you're using and is unsure of her role and therfore feels her ability is being questioned. As we always say it could be any one of a number of things

[aloevera]

medsurgrnco.---thanks for the input...this med nurse has been there for a long time, I am not questioning whether she has done her work...I am asking if she has given a PRN med or if she will get one ready when I see the need for one....I cannot get to her MAR to check myself...no one is allowed to touch her MAR or med cart...she is very adament about that...which I understand, but there are times when I have to know if something has been given (PRN) or is she will get something ready (instead of waiting until it is too late and we have to call a code)

I am known for being "nice" and I think that I am being taken advantage of....

[medsurgrnco, BSN, RN]

Aloevera, I didn't think you were questioning her work. From her comments to you, thought SHE might think you were. Your system there sounds awkward. You do need to know if a PRN med was given or will be given shortly, and sounds like you can't just give it yourself or check for yourself. So how are you supposed to find out without offending this nurse? As it sounds like she poses new difficulties for you that you haven't had with other med nurses, what have other nurses done with this med nurse? Maybe you could ask the med nurse for a solution to the situation?

[aloevera]

Aloevera, I didn't think you were questioning her work. From her comments to you, thought SHE might think you were. Your system there sounds awkward. You do need to know if a PRN med was given or will be given shortly, and sounds like you can't just give it yourself or check for yourself. So how are you supposed to find out without offending this nurse? As it sounds like she poses new difficulties for you that you haven't had with other med nurses, what have other nurses done with this med nurse? Maybe you could ask the med nurse for a solution to the situation?

other nurses have switched days to get off of her rotation...that is how I ended up with it now...

on my next day in with her, Tuesday, I will continue to do what I always do and when she stares blank or gives a nasty remark..I will have to explain why I am needing the infor...surely she knows, tho...if that doesn't work, I will talk to nurse manager of unit....Yes, she is very much on the defensive, for why, I don't know....thanks for the input, I have to work this out....

[medsurgrnco, BSN, RN]

Aloevera, this med nurse sounds highly suspicious. Wonder if she's trying to hide something with the meds. Why does she not allow you to look at the MARS, except for those times when it would interrupt her work? Good luck in finding a solution. Nurses don't need these kinds of difficulties with coworkers at work!

[aloevera]

She really is a very good Med nurse....serious, knows her meds...she is not very nice to the pts, or most of the staff except a few chosen few...I doubt there is any wrong doing with the meds...she has been there longer than anyone else on the unit...will keep trying to work it out...you are so right....this is really not needed on a psych unit..

We have enough stress with the pts., let alone the staff !!!!!