Need input

Specialties Psychiatric

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I am a student nurse graduating in April '10. I am currently working in a small inpatient psych facility as a nurse tech. I LOVE IT!! I have been lead to believe that when I graduate, the Nurse Manager would like me to apply for an open position. I would love to stay at this facility, but I have a concern. As a nurse tech, I am out and about with the patients. I love interacting with them and observing them. I have learned more from them in the last month I have worked there then I did in my four months of psych in school. OK here is my concern. The RN's in this unit do very little interacting with the patients (except one). I know that they are busy doing "nurse" duties, but they do have some down time. How would it go over with the other nurses if I go out of my way to interact with my patients when they are not? I don't want to rock the boat right off, but I am going into psych to learn, interact with and help my patients. Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

How does the one nurse make out with her peers? Maybe you could ask her for suggestions? I'm one of the more active nurse on my unit and haven't ever had any problems in fact they seem to like me because I offer to do some of their tasks while I'm out on the floor. :)

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Specializes in School Nursing, Behavorial Health.

I have just recently started working at an inpatient psych hospital as an RN and I completely see where you are coming from. I try my best to talk and interact with my patients, but as the charge nurse I also have to (depending on the unit) pass meds, take md orders, answer the phones, talk to parents, do 1-2 nursing groups and paper charting on as many as 22 patients. It can all be overwhelming and time consuming. But on the days when I have the staffing I need, I do get out into the day room and see how the patients are doing. I try my best to have 1 on 1 conversations with the pts. who are needing a listening ear. If you love working as a tech, trust me, you will love being their nurse as well. Do not worry about what the other nurses think about you, be the leader in how things should be done.

Best of luck to you. I hope you are as happy in your career as I am in mine :o)

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Specializes in Psych - Mental Health.
... as a nurse tech, i am out and about with the patients. i love interacting with them and observing them. i have learned more from them in the last month i have worked there then i did in my four months of psych in school... i am going into psych to learn, interact with and help my patients...

good for you! your patients will always be your best teachers in psych!

... ...the rn's in this unit do very little interacting with the patients (except one). i know that they are busy doing "nurse" duties, but ...

my question to you is: what is a "nurse" duty that does not involve interacting with a patient????? are they basing their nursing assessments & interventions on the assessments & observations of the psych techs? how can you assess a person's mental state without spending time with them? how can you monitor symptoms accurately? assess medication side effects or effectiveness?

this "custodial approach" to psych nursing is the reason psych is often seen as "easy" or "not real nursing." :uhoh3:

as a profession we do ourselves a disservice to accept this low standard of care for a population who are so vulnerable and needy. psych techs or orderlies are often the persons who spend the most time with pts and they may be very good at their jobs but it is the trained nurse who is responsible to provide and supervise the care. if we are not prepared to provide this level of care then we are in danger of putting ourselves out of jobs! all kinds of literature supports the idea that direct, face to face care by a skilled & experienced psych nurse will contribute to all sorts of positive patient outcomes: decreased los, decreased violent incidents, decreased use of prns & chemical restraints, decreased use of seclusion & mechanical restraints, decreased rates of recidivism, etc.

so as armywifern said: "do not worry about what the other nurses think about you, be the leader in how things should be done."

best of luck! we definitely need new nurses like you in psych!!! :nurse: :redbeathe

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