New grad RN working in Mental Health

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Hi All,

I would like to get some advice. I'm possibly beginning employment working with patients needing mental health. I'm a new grad with only nursing school experience and I have been offered a position after 7 months of searching in hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical facilities.

This new position is not in a hospital setting. It's in a community facility that provides single resident occupancy (SRO) for people who used to be on substance abuse or were homeless and are now receiving services to have a second chance at life.

There are 78 residents and I will be the only nurse providing assessments and monitoring their compliance to medications and treatments. As well as running health workshops for them either by myself or using an outside source.

What is your opinion regarding a new grad working with mental health patients under this criteria?

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I always think it's a bad idea for new nurses to be working in any kind of setting in which you will be the only nurse, without more experienced nurses around to back you up and for you to learn from. A position like the one you describe is really designed/intended for a seasoned, experienced psychiatric nurse, but a lot of community based residential and mental health programs are run by professionals in other mental health disciplines who don't appreciate the difference between a new grad RN and an experienced RN. To whom would you be reporting? What kind of back-up and clinical supervision would you have?

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It is intimidating knowing that I will be the only RN there. There will be one clinical case coordinator and four case managers whom I will be working with but I will be answering and working closely with the Director of the facility.

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Are any of those other individuals RNs?

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No, I will be the only RN there. What do you think?

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How often is an assessment required on each resident?

What criteria does an assessment consist of?

How do you monitor compliance?

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Those are all good questions, questions that I didn't ask specifically. One on one meetings with the residents will be done daily but I won't be meeting with all in one day. I believe they will be divided through out the week. I didn't find out the assessment criteria nor specifics on how to monitor their compliance. I will save these questions and ask them. Thank you!

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sounds a bit tough for a new inexperienced nurse... I have just one year experience, and still feel the need to work with a second nurse(im in acute hospital)

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That is exactly how I feel. I would feel more comfortable if there was another nurse there. Thank you for your input.

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