How was your Psych rotation?

[starmickey03]

Im really excited for mine! The first 5 weeks is Psych for me (2 days a week).

The facility that I'll be at consists of all convicted felons who got off on insanity charges. That kind of freaks me out, but Im still excited nonetheless. And the best part is that we dont have to wear our uniforms for this rotation, just casual/professional dress. YAY! lol

[AOTTER]

I had my psych rotation last semester. I loved it! I have never played so much uno in my life. You will of course be a little on edge your first day. You just need to be aware of your surroundings and stick with a buddy. Never go somewhere by yourself and never put yourself in a situation where you could be vulnerable. Your school would never put you in a situation in which you could be harmed. You are coming into contact with patients who do see and hear things that are not there but you will learn how to read there body language. The best piece of advice I heard while in my psych rotation was if you are with a patient and the conversation turns into something you are not comfortable with just simply say "I think my Mom is calling me" and quickly turn and walk the other direction.

[TerpGal02, ASN]

I hhad my psych rotation at an acute inpatient unit at our local hospital. It was great. Nothing like One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest at all. I loved it, I felt at home there.

[meltnpointofwax]

I hated psych. we put puzzles together with the patients. it was 12 hours of boredom.

Just remember not every pysch patient is a violent psychopath. There are all different kind of psych units out there. Some people are just extremely depressed and need someone. So don't be afraid that you're going to be harmed. good luck :redbeathe

[hraneeRN]

Psych basically scares me!! hated every min of it! God bless those who have a passion for this specialty.

[starmickey03, MSN, RN]

Thanks everybody! It's actually not too bad, but it does get a little boring after a while. We actually had to learn self defense on the first day so of course that added to my anxiety level. Lol!

[poopprincess]

I dreaded my psych rotation and it turned out to be my favorite one! We saw child, adolescent, women/mens stablization (they are in the worst frame of mind here because this where they are stablized upon arrival), drug detox, music/art therapy, groups, partial hospitalization. Lots of conversations and counseling. I LOVED it. My advice would be make sure you have the psych pocket guide and an open mind.

[starmickey03, MSN, RN]

Finished my 5 week Psych rotation on Friday and I absolutely LOVED it! Reading their charts was one of the things I enjoyed the most other than interacting with the patients. Some of the things that the patients were there for is just "WOW!" That rotation definitely has me looking at everybody in a different light now because you never know by looking at someone what theyre capable of.

But it was completely different than I expected and Im actually dreading getting back on the Med-Surg floor this week.

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

Finished my 5 week Psych rotation on Friday and I absolutely LOVED it! Reading their charts was one of the things I enjoyed the most other than interacting with the patients. Some of the things that the patients were there for is just "WOW!" That rotation definitely has me looking at everybody in a different light now because you never know by looking at someone what theyre capable of.

But it was completely different than I expected and Im actually dreading getting back on the Med-Surg floor this week.

Thanks for sharing. I start psych in 4 weeks ( well if I get through my current class that is). I'm not a big fan of psych but do look forward to it.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

mine was...crazy. of course, it was back in the olden days when they let us do things they'd never let students do now...like take a bunch of patients off the old chronics' ward without any staff or faculty, just a buncha 19-year-old student nurses, pack them into our own cars, and take them ten miles into the city to the museum of science to see the planetarium show. or do a halloween party complete with dunking for apples-- you haven't lived til you've seen a woman who's been in a state hospital for forty-three of her fifty-two years go under for so long you're just reaching for her to pull her out and save her from drowning, and she comes up with the apple speared on her two remaining front teeth and a cackle coming from behind them that would etch glass. i'll never forget it.

after that the only time i ever set foot in a psych ward was when i got asked to come in and give some blood to a patient who was anemic, since none of the psych nurses could start ivs or remember how to do that. i got things up and running and asked idly why this lady needed blood. "she's been having bloody bowel movements in her bed," came the answer. umm, says i, really? for how long, and has anybody called the surgery resident to see what's up with that? "a few days. she's just acting out," came the definitive response. i said i thought i'd just go call surgery anyway; humor me.

i came in the next day to my surgical floor and there she was, still crazy as a loon, but at least having had her bleeding gut resected.

moral of the story: work psych if you want to, but don't forget that just because they're crazy doesn't mean they don't get assessed for physical problems, too.