Mental Health Clinical/Class

[Lulu222]

I'm about a week away from starting my mental health class, and I'm slightly nervous because I've heard nothing but horror stories from nurses and other nursing students who have already taken the class. I was wondering if anyone has any insight or tips, because I've heard nothing but negatives..Looking for some positives :)

[Boog'sCRRN246, RN]

Reading about the conditions pales in comparison to actually seeing them manifested in patients. I just finished my Mental Health rotation. We heard many persecutory delusions (mainly revolving around the government), lots of religiosity, got to see several take downs, patients put into seclusion...it got pretty wild at times. All of us went in to Mental Health with an 'Ahh, a break' kind of attitude...and we've now come out with a 'Holy ****, that was no joke' attitude LOL...You're going to see lots of interesting things, good luck :)

[elkpark]

All of us went in to Mental Health with an 'Ahh a break' kind of attitude...and we've now come out with a 'Holy ****, that was no joke' attitude LOL...You're going to see lots of interesting things, good luck :)[/quote']

LOL. I've taught psychiatric nursing in a few different schools over the years, including the clinical rotations, and students typically start the rotation making comments about how easy this is going to be compared to their med-surg and other specialty rotations (since they won't be doing beds, baths, meds, treatments ...), and, by the end of the term, they're saying things like, "Wow, I had no idea -- this is really hard, you have to think all the time ..." :) I always say that it's hard intellectual and emotional work, instead of being hard physical work.

However, I've also had many students come into the psych course and clinical dreading the experience, and sure they were going to hate it, who ended up really enjoying it (or, at least, not finding it as bad as they anticipated :)). I'm not sure why it so often has a "bad rep" in nursing programs -- maybe just because it's so different from the other kinds of nursing specialties -- but that does seem to be a v. common phenomenon.

OP -- I don't know whether the psych course in your particular program has some problems that make it so unpopular/scary, but, in general, I would encourage you to not expect it to be a bad experience. I often joke that the problem is that everyone's seen "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," but v. few people have actually been on a modern psychiatric unit ... Don't let all the scary movies you've seen influence your expectations. There are plenty of us "hard core" psych nurses who would rather go hungry than work in any other area of nursing, and it has its rewards and frustrations just like any other area of nursing.

Best wishes for a great rotation! :balloons:

[justmeinlv]

Elkpark I will be in the mental health class in about a year. I am really excited for it! What can I start to read now so I will be prepared for the class. What areas do your students have most difficulty with?

Thank you,

Branden

[itsmejuli]

If you want a prep for mental health you don't need to read. Go sit in on an AA or NA meeting, go volunteer at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen. Just be observant without being judgmental.

[DolceVita, ADN, BSN, RN]

If you want a prep for mental health you don't need to read. Go sit in on an AA or NA meeting, go volunteer at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen. Just be observant without being judgmental.

Why would you think AA or NA meetings would specifically prep someone for a mental health rotation?

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

When I had my MH rotation, I didn't really see anything out of the ordinary. I was just bored to tears!!! All we did was work on therapeutic communication - no VS/assessments, no meds to pass, no nursing skills to work on...just communication. I love talking to patients but I like doing others things, too lol. It takes a special person to love MH, and I'm not that person!!