Mental Health Nursing

GBC_Student, BSN, RN · Feb 4, 2019

It sort of depends on what unit you're working on. I work on an inpatient addictions unit. Some people will say addictions is separate from mental health but I digress.
For me my day starts at 0730, I get report, do the narcotic count, dispense meds to my patients, do a quick mental health assessment, ask them about mood, sleep, anxiety, suicidal ideation, ect. Team meeting, Then charting. All of this is finished by 10am. Then usually do an admission or a discharge, more charting. All the while the clients are going to groups and programs. By noon there's more meds, usually go on lunch, come back and check for orders from the docs, another meeting, some more charting. Dinner around five which means more meds, more charting, then 1930 hits and I give report and leave. Now each day's a little different. Often I'll have patients who need emotional support so I talk to them for a while, sometimes you have patients who have conflicts with other patients so you might play a bit of a mediator, and every hour we do rounds to make sure everyone is present and haven't hurt themselves. Depending on your unit you might be having a code white every few hours.

Each mental health unit at my hospital is different so if you're interested in the field you should do some research on the various conditions and see what interests you. Like if you work on a forensic unit your patient load is less but your patients might require you to be with them or near them the whole day. I know nurses who accompany their forensic patients to appointments outside of the hospital, sometimes they go to the gym with them and play basketball, stuff like that. If you're working with the elderly you're doing bedside care and more hands on skills.

linzipinzi · Feb 4, 2019

4 hours ago, GBC_Student said:
It sort of depends on what unit you're working on. I work on an inpatient addictions unit. Some people will say addictions is separate from mental health but I digress.
For me my day starts at 0730, I get report, do the narcotic count, dispense meds to my patients, do a quick mental health assessment, ask them about mood, sleep, anxiety, suicidal ideation, ect. Team meeting, Then charting. All of this is finished by 10am. Then usually do an admission or a discharge, more charting. All the while the clients are going to groups and programs. By noon there's more meds, usually go on lunch, come back and check for orders from the docs, another meeting, some more charting. Dinner around five which means more meds, more charting, then 1930 hits and I give report and leave. Now each day's a little different. Often I'll have patients who need emotional support so I talk to them for a while, sometimes you have patients who have conflicts with other patients so you might play a bit of a mediator, and every hour we do rounds to make sure everyone is present and haven't hurt themselves. Depending on your unit you might be having a code white every few hours.
Each mental health unit at my hospital is different so if you're interested in the field you should do some research on the various conditions and see what interests you. Like if you work on a forensic unit your patient load is less but your patients might require you to be with them or near them the whole day. I know nurses who accompany their forensic patients to appointments outside of the hospital, sometimes they go to the gym with them and play basketball, stuff like that. If you're working with the elderly you're doing bedside care and more hands on skills.

Thank you so much for your detailed reply. Now I have more of an idea of what to expect. Because I have chosen all psychiatric units for my final placement. Some of them schizophrenia units and one of them was forensics! I will find out in a couple weeks which placement I get. I just knew before I even started nursing school that I wanted to be a mental health nurse. ? I, myself, have experienced depression and anxiety in the past and still struggle with it from time to time. So I feel as those I can really help the patients, because I can relate to these types of issues.

GBC_Student, BSN, RN · Feb 5, 2019

It's great that you have a personal understanding of the issues your patients are experiencing. I would caution you a bit, working in mental health can be extremely draining. I know a couple nurses who have gone on stress leave or had prior mental health problems re-emerge. Not that this is something that will for sure happen to you, just something to keep in mind. Best of luck.

linzipinzi · Feb 5, 2019

21 hours ago, GBC_Student said:
It's great that you have a personal understanding of the issues your patients are experiencing. I would caution you a bit, working in mental health can be extremely draining. I know a couple nurses who have gone on stress leave or had prior mental health problems re-emerge. Not that this is something that will for sure happen to you, just something to keep in mind. Best of luck.

Thank you for letting me know. I have a cousin who is a mental health nurse. She loves her job, says its so rewarding, but that it can be quite stressful. She told me how on a regular hospital unit, example: medsurg, its physically exhausting, whereas with mental health, its mentally/emotionally exhausting. So I am preparing myself!