Possible to start psych with 1 year critical care?

Davey Do · May 1, 2011

Is it possible to make an entry into psych without any proper psychiatric nursing experience? I suppose I have some outreach background that I can use to beef up my resume... Just wondering how a nursing manager would perceive hiring someone into psych with a critical care background.

From my perspective and experience, I will have to answer your question yes. And, I think it was to your advantage to gain some Medical experience before entering into Psychiatric Nursing, also. Some basic Medical situations sometimes stymie Psych Nurses. Merely knowing how to handle a Medical situation in a Psychiatric setting is greatly to your advantage.

It's always exciting to hear of someone actually desiring to work with Psychiatric Patients instead of just settling for a Bottom Rung of the Medical Field Ladder. Psych Nursing is a Specialty and there's as much to know about it as there is to being First Scrub on a Lumbar Laminectomy. In either case, if one doesn't know what to in a given situtation can result in grave circumstances.

Nurses of all the Fields have to deal with the behavior, personalities and idiosyncrasies of the Patients they serve. However, in Psychiatric Nursing, Behavior is the focus. Knowing how to deal with Psychosis is probably one of the most challenging parts of our Job. Having a good working knowledge of Physiological Physics can add greatly to One's understanding of Mental Health and its manifestations.

Many Mentally Ill Patients also suffer from Medical Ilnesses. It is good to know when a behavior is the result of an exacerbation or is related to a physical condition. A classic example is with the Geriatric Population: Patients from LTC Facilities diagnosed with Psychosis NOS are often found to also have a UTI. Heck- some Patients show a marked decrease in agitated behavior after a good bowel movement! Approaching the Patient from a Holistic perspective definitely has its advantages.

So, Guita77, your background is advantageous to your endeavor, as is your outreach background. However, your biggest asset is your attraction to this Field. I would encourage you to focus on that point.

My very best to you.

Dave

GuitaRN77 · May 1, 2011

Thanks, Davey Do! I appreciate your insightful reply and the encouragement. :) These are good things to hear!

Whispera, MSN, RN · May 1, 2011

I started working as a psych nurse without any nursing experience at all, other than nursing school experience. I did work as a tech on a psych unit, but that's different than being the nurse.

I agree with Davey. Your biggest asset is your attraction to the field. People who have a mission and fire in their heart for a field can bring alot to it.

I disagree with people who say to get that year of med/surg experience before specializing in anything. If you know what you want to do, that year is a year away from your goal. Besides, you can re-learn any med/surg skills you might lose by being out of it awhile, if you ever have to re-learn them. Been there, done that...

Your time spent in critical care won't be wasted, however. We are the sum of our experiences. You will see things differently than someone without that experience, just as a nurse with other experiences will see things differently than you do. The world needs us all as we do our best to care for its inhabitants.

morecoffeepls, BSN, RN · Jul 23, 2011

I only had one instructor that didn't feel compelled to shove the same advice down my throat - do med-surg first, then decide. I actually started nursing school with the intention of being in the ICU before becoming a nurse anesthetist. But once I did a few psych rotations, I knew it was for me. Even though my relationship with that instructor had been strained for the most part, she recognized my desire and commitment when we had each other for my final clinical rotation. She ended up telling me not to waste my time elsewhere if I knew where I wanted to be. She was right. However, I think you have a definite advantage going into psych with some med-surg knowledge/skills. I think the real concern is for nurses changing from psych to another type of unit - I know I would be lost. Psych is an entirely different animal, and I believe, as Davey and Whispera said, that your desire to be a psych nurse along with your capacity to respond to a medical situation should be more than enough. My situation was similar to yours - I became a nurse a little later in life after having had a few careers. I was fortunate to be hired right out of school as the lone night nurse on a great psych unit. I'm certain having actually done a rotation on my unit as a student and making an impression had a lot, if not everything, to do with getting this position. I've been told by my nurse manager that being a guy didn't hurt either. So perhaps my particular set of circumstances were a little fortuitous, but you'll probably end up saying the same thing when you end up where you want to be. You'll get a great job that would not have been available to you had you gone into pysch as a new grad - because you probably deserve it.