Please help Please!!!

achot chavi · Jul 12, 2006

You need to take a deep breath!! You sound like you have alot going on inside of you that needs sorting in order to help you make a decision. I can only tell you about my experience and if you find anything helpful, than I'm glad. I went into nursing because I too was enthralled with the idea of helping others and I was proud to be a student nurse. As a student we spent time working on many different types of units- including Psych. I graduated with the idea of going into pediatrics. Only. Life has this habit of taking you down lanes that you wouldn't have expected and about 20 years later I am an ADON at a n SNF (Nursing Home) and loving it immensely! Nursing has shaped my life and I beleive it has helped me be a better parent, wife, and overall person.

My point is that the best laid plans don't always come to fruition and one has to follow their destiny.. The beauty of nursing is that there are so many ways and avenues to practice.

Nursing is hard work, demanding (in so many ways) requires patience and enthusiasm, flexibility and persistence. It is so multifaceted and dynamic. I promise you that you will never be bored, and if your smart, you will avoid burn out too.

I hope I have notinsulted you or anyone either. Lots of Luck, All the best,

CharlieRN · Jul 13, 2006

Achot chavi has given excellent advice. Do relax. Just focus on becoming the best nurse you can be. There is nothing you will be taught in nursing school that is useless.

Counseling tends to be a relativly small part of the psych nurse's duties because on most psych units there are many other specialists in counseling. While a nurse can do counseling, these others can't do physical assessment, medications, treatments or manage the unit. Those uniquely nursing jobs are the primary responsiblity of the psych nurse.

Prepareing for a psych nursing position I would suggest a careful study of psych meds and their side effects. Try to develope good listening skills. The secret of psych counseling is to be non judgemental. It is not your place to judge the client, and usually it is useless for you to offer solutions to their problems. They need to find their own answers. The other secret of success in this field is always to remember to maintain your boundries. You are friendly to your patients but you are not their friend. Yours is a professional relationship.

nurse2b1018 · Jul 13, 2006

Thanks for your responds, they really helped. From what I gather from the other post I think I would be a great nurse and psy nurse.

Sistermoon · Jul 17, 2006

Hi! I have just passed the N-Clex, and I'm starting my psych internship in just a few weeks. It wasn't that long ago that I was in your nursing student shoes wondering which direction to take. While in school there was so much to absorb that I just tried to keep open and focused on all the experiences that came my way. And it was really fun to share the learning with my fellow students. I learned as much from them as I did from my teachers. Over the past few months, it has been especially awesome to watch each of us blossom and find our separate ways as our classes drew to a close. Nursing school is really tough...and nothing...ABSOLUTELY NOTHING...has ever prepared me so well for assessing my strengths and weaknesses, planning my next step, and then taking it with confidence. From what I have seen of my fellow graduates, they've all landed on their feet, too. My advice: Don't look so far ahead. Learning to be a nurse is a process, and if you target your learning to a specific area, you may be cheating yourself out of a well-rounded experience. AND...a lot of us entered nursing school with a particular path in mind, only to find ourselves moving in an altogether surprising and different direction.

PsychRN-Kris · Jul 18, 2006

Hi....I'm a new grad RN and I didn't know I wanted to be in psych for sure until I did my preceptorship in the field my final quarter of nursing school. I absorbed all the experiances I could while in school and found psych to the the place that I really loved. I was told over and over in school that new grads never get in and it would be a waste of time to precept in psych rather than med-surg but I followed my heart and my interest, worked my butt of during my preceptorship and I landed a great job right after receiving my RN license at an inpatient psych facility.

Keep yourself to open to all experiances, follow your instincts and enjoy the ride!