should I Stay?

I am a fairly new graduate (12/05). right out of school I went into med surge. while I felt the job was OK, I hated the stress, lack of time available to perform adequate patient care, constant running around, no time at all to pee, (11x7 with 16 patients) continous mandation, sometimes resenting patients who rang the call bell over and over. despite all that, in those two months I have to say I learned a lot with regard to skill level. we were required to do everything. anyway, I left and took a job in a psych unit. I am completely fascinated and love this job. I find it extremely rewarding and I love each day. while it can definetely be hectic, I feel that this is the place I was meant to be. Each new day is a new experience. I feel that I have human contact with my patients and that I make their life a little better, just for a second or two, on most days. My problem is this. How do I stop beating myself up for leaving med surge. I see my fellow graduates goinng into er/ icu/ med surge and I wonder am I making a mistake by giving up my "medical skills" so early on. How do a rationalize with what I want to do (psych) with what I think I should be doing?

Hi,

I graduated a couple years ago and did some time in sub-acute, med-surg, rehab and LTC. Then I found my way to chemical dependency/psych, fell in love with it. In nursing school I was the only one in my class that enjoyed the psych rotation. I have gone per diem in that area now and am trying dialysis. You don't need to rationalize it. Psych nursing is an extremely specialized field. It either calls to you or it doesn't. You will learn and use a different set of skills that are no less important or less challenging than your co-workers in other areas. After a year in psych I realized this. If this is where your heart is, stick with it. I know I will always stay in this area at least per diem. You can always go back to the medical areas after you get a sound footing in psych. You will use so much of what you will learn in psych in other areas. The pts your co-workers dread will be your favorites(because you will know how to handle them). I'm finding that out in my new area. The pts they don't like to deal with(the psych ones) don't phase me at all. I say stick with what calls to you, you can always try other areas.You are not alone. I did the exact same thing to myself when I went into psych. Good luck.

Sue

Since when isn't psych medical? And why should you hone skills that you don't want to use as much as the ones you are now using?

Do what you love, love what you do.

the world needs good psych nurses who do it because they enjoy it. keep on