Will Benson

Latest Activity

1. Lexapro.....is this normal??

   Will Benson replied to Curious1alwys's topic in Psychiatric

   There are several things about Lexapro you should understand. 1. Lexapro (as well as ANY SSRI) takes at least 6-8 weeks to be effective. If you've only been on it for a month, you probably haven't given it a fair trial. 2. Nausea and vomiting may be...

2. question about psych meds

   Will Benson replied to Ms.RN's topic in Psychiatric

   Hi For several years now Depakote has been approved for treatment of Bipolar Disorder and is considered a First-line medication for this. It's true that it was originally marketed for treating seizure disorders but research has shown that many of th...

3. Please help me get motivated

   Will Benson replied to angelbear's topic in General Nursing

   Angelbear Let me start by telling you I have the deepest respect and admiration for LPNs and nursing assistants. You are the very often the "front line" when it comes to patient care and you are often the first ones to pick up on changes in patient c...

4. nurses eating their young

   Will Benson replied to tortisshellcat's topic in General Nursing

   tortisshellcat - There's a joke going around in our hospital that goes --- "They found a body downtown without identification, but they knew it was a nurse." "How did they know?" "Stomach was empty, bladder was full and the a-- had been chewed out." ...

5. Med/surg nurse needs Help

   Will Benson replied to Genista's topic in Psychiatric

   kona2 I'm sorry to hear about your family. As a psych nurse, let me lay some ground work for you. An involuntary admission is a situation in which a patient is admitted to an inpatient facility for evaluation. That 72 hours is the time that doctor ha...

6. A family needing help dealing with psychosis

   Will Benson replied to norm's topic in Psychiatric

   Norm - If I may, I'd like to suggest a few things. First, allow the family to experience some of the problems you have been having with being the "buffer" in these situations. If they have to be put in that position, maybe they will be less reluctant...

7. A family needing help dealing with psychosis

   Will Benson replied to norm's topic in Psychiatric

   Norm I'm very sorry to hear about your sister. 4 years is a long time to go without help. I'm also sorry that your family fails to recognize the need for counseling and assistance. I'm guessing they are "running interference" for her when her behavio...

8. from med-surg to psych nursing

   Will Benson replied to marthaj1977's topic in Psychiatric

   Hi martha This will be my 24th year in nursing, most of that (18 years) in psychiatry. I am rather passionate about my job and my patients. So much so that I got my Master's in May and my Practitioner's Cert. If you go into psych nursing (or OB or pe...

9. how do we change nurses opinions on male nurses?

   Will Benson replied to mark_LD_RN's topic in General Nursing

   When I last checked my calendar, this was 2003!. I realize that there are STILL (surprisingly) a number of female nurses who believe males have no place in nursing. To them I say "Eisenhower is not president, the Model T is obsolete; and this is not ...

10. BuSpar, Xanax, or other Alternatives For Anxiety?

    Will Benson replied to RN-PA's topic in General Nursing

    RN-PA Wow! You have a lot of advice! I hope my contribution doesn't "muddy the water" for you. Have you talked to your doctor about how to handle the stress non-pharmacologically? Talk with the occupational therapists on the psych unit of the hospita...

11. Seeking advice - dealing with 17-year old sister

    Will Benson replied to Altra's topic in Psychiatric

    Hi MLOS I'm sorry to hear about your sister's troubles. What you are describing sounds like the DSM IV definition of an oppositional defiant disorder (O.D.D.). Having never met your sister, I couldn't say for sure (Only a fool makes a diagnosis witho...

12. depressed 47yo female

    Will Benson replied to nanook's topic in Psychiatric

    Nanook, I would suggest that since this person seems unable to make decisions to provide necessary self care to sustain her life, guardianship might be in order, if it has not already been done. Has anyone considered the use of a PEG tube? This would...

13. I Now Know What I Want To Do

    Will Benson replied to colleenee2's topic in Psychiatric

    Colleenee2 Congratulations on your choice of Psychiatric Nursing. I have been in nursing 23 years, 15 in psych. I find it fascinating (so much so that I just got my Master's Degree and Nurse Practitioner in Adult Psych). ANY job in nursing is stressf...

14. advice 4 working w/homeless?

    Will Benson replied to Cewens's topic in Psychiatric

    Hi Carol, I've been a psych nurse for 15 out of 23 years in nursing. I think that if you are really committed to helping the homeless, you should consider starting in the community mental health centers. They see a lot of outpatients for medication m...

15. New Med

    Will Benson replied to mamabear's topic in Psychiatric

    Geodon comes with mixed reviews. Onset of action for IM use is 30 minutes to 3-4 hours! Not real useful if you have to emergently medicate a client. That's why Haldol and Ativan are (sadly) still the drugs of choice for emergency medication. Abilify ...