Hello I am a new graduate nurse who will be taking NCLEX soon. I entered nursing school because the career allowed me to help people, seemed to pay well, and looked as if I would be able to find a job eaisier than other careers. Now that I have been a CNA and have completed my clinical rotations I unfortunately have a pretty negative outlook on nursing. Poor staffing, poor treatment from families, patients, and other staff, and just the nature of the work on med/surg and telemetry floors just isn't my fit and I plan to never work on one. I have read through the thousands of posts of nurses in all branches of nursing and there is a common trend that RN's do not seem to be happy. This was evident in the staff from the units I worked and had clinicals on. There just seemed a level of unhappiness in many of the nurses. The only field of nursing that seems like it might fit me is psych. I don't like tubes, drains, and body fluids (I can deal with some but not constantly). My question is to psych nurses how does the stress level compare to medical floors? I understand there will be stress in all fields of nursing but I would like to have a some time to eat and take a bathroom break and not have to deal with being slapped, pooped, and peed on. What is the job satisfaction like for you as a psych nurse and do you like it better than working on med/surg? Any input from psych nurses will be appreciated. I don't mean to sound cynical but I am just frustrated that I might have to start over if I don't like nursing. Thanks for reading.
My take on psych is that done right it can be one of the hardest but fulfilling nursing jobs. You will often finish a shift mentally drained from working with your patients. But psych nursing can be the easiest nursing
when done wrong, (hiding behind the nursing station and just doing the bare minimum. In nursing school, I hated psych and thought I was on my way to being a high speed ICU nurse, but a funny thing happened on my way to that goal, I found that after 2 years of Tele cardiac experience, I loved talking and working with patients in emotional distress. Point being, follow your heart but don't be surprised that you might end up somewhere unexpected.
I basically wanted to go into psych nursing from the very beginning of my nursing career(2nd career for me)and ended up getting hired in acute psych before I graduated.
I have 27+ years of continuous sobriety from drug and alcohol addiction, tried suicide 3 times as an adolescent, got kicked out of high school and when I was 18 got charged with involuntary manslaughter due to a car accident in which my best friend died.
I was diagnosed with all sorts of mental disorders and almost wound up in a mental institution for a minimum of 3 years as a sentence for the involuntary manslaughter.
The funniest part is where I work, I was actually a patient for 11 days back in 1987 for psychosis. I was about 6 months sober and was having panic attacks to the point where I was seeing bugs and other hallucinations.
Don't worry. I haven't disclosed anything two state nursing boards don't already know.
So, I LOVE psych nursing, especially with the adolescents. I have a lot of empathy and compassion for any psych patient though.
THIS is where I'm meant to be. I had 15+ years of management experience including 9 years running a business as a GM. One day, after 16 years, the owner told me he could no longer use me and replaced me with his son. I KNEW God had a plan for me and here I am. Got my BSN, licensed in two states and living the dream.
Can it be stressful? Sure, 3 mights a week I'm usually the only RN which also happens to be the busiest admit nights. I've been hit, punched,kicked, spit on, etc. but ultimately at the end of the day, I'm in a position where I can make a difference.
Specializes in Psychiatric nursing; Medical-Surgrical.
This is exactly my story too. I started off on the Medicine floor...I thought the best part of it was doing blood draws, giving IVs, blood work, and interacting and relating with the patients and their families. Also teaching....I hate to see poop...I have sprained my back even when using lifts with heavier patients. I do not complain but I need somewhere I can relate much miore with patients and their families and make a difference in their lives. I feel Psych nursing will help me acheive that where Medicine is focused more on the disease and treatment and so on and there is often no time for one-on-one with patients. I always find time to do that sometimes but I have seen nurses who basically treat their poatients like objects.....well to cut long story short, your comment is almost exactly my story. Thank you.
I always eat lunch...okay 95% of the time....otherwise I can't do my job properly so I consider it part of my job to eat. It's not always at the exact time I want however. There is less bodily fluids to deal with but not zero bodily fluids. If I have to use the bathroom I just go.... I don't get all these people that say they have no time. Maybe it's the martyr complex that nurses tend to have.
I always eat lunch...okay 95% of the time....otherwise I can't do my job properly so I consider it part of my job to eat. It's not always at the exact time I want however. There is less bodily fluids to deal with but not zero bodily fluids. If I have to use the bathroom I just go.... I don't get all these people that say they have no time. Maybe it's the martyr complex that nurses tend to have.
I think it depends on where you work. I have had work places on both ends of the spectrum. From sitting on your butt with 4 patients, VA lol, to running around after 15 adolescents who were trying to kill each other. Most places were somewhere in between.
yeah i love working in psych nursing. I still work in cardiac med/surg and occasionally on a med surg renal floor. i have noticed many of our nurses either have current psych issues or former issues. a few do it because of family members who have issues.
msdt37767
19 Posts
My take on psych is that done right it can be one of the hardest but fulfilling nursing jobs. You will often finish a shift mentally drained from working with your patients. But psych nursing can be the easiest nursing
when done wrong, (hiding behind the nursing station and just doing the bare minimum. In nursing school, I hated psych and thought I was on my way to being a high speed ICU nurse, but a funny thing happened on my way to that goal, I found that after 2 years of Tele cardiac experience, I loved talking and working with patients in emotional distress. Point being, follow your heart but don't be surprised that you might end up somewhere unexpected.