what about a Private facility?

lilia123 · May 18, 2008

let me see if i can answer my own question, a private psychiatric facility may not pay as well as a state but there may more staff available and better retention due to other things such as quality of patients due to private insurance. Perhaps better benefits....how am I doing here?

aloevera · May 20, 2008

You need to go and check these facilities out....they are all different in different areas of the country...You would think that a private facility would be better pay and conditions, but believe me that is not always true...

elkpark · May 20, 2008

In my experience the public facilities (state hospitals and psych units in community hospitals) tend to have better staffing, happier staff, and better retention than the private-for-profit psych facilities, which squeeze each nickel 'til it screams and cut every corner they possibly can ...

I'm not sure what you mean by "quality of patients," so I can't comment specifically on that. However, I will say that psychiatric clients tend to be, in general, frustrating and challenging to work with, in any setting.

lilia123 · May 20, 2008

Thanks for the input, I have to go on an interviews to get a feel for it, or maybe do per diem if they would take me........ :clown:

Katnip, RN · May 20, 2008

In my experience the public facilities (state hospitals and psych units in community hospitals) tend to have better staffing, happier staff, and better retention

Wow. Not from what I hear and see in my state. State hospitals tend to pay much lower than others.

elkpark · May 20, 2008

In my state, the pay is at least competitive in the state facilities, plus the benefits as a state employee are better than what most other employers offer. I'm sure that varies quite a bit from state to state.

aloevera · May 20, 2008

I know that the pay is "NOT NEAR ENOUGH" !!!! in the private facility where I am employed......but state hospital too far away....don't know exactly what it pays....

Little Panda RN, ASN, RN · May 21, 2008

The for profit psych facility that I used to work for continually short staffed us. We did more with less and it wasn't safe. The pay was okay, but not worth it!! Guess it depends on the facility and who runs it.

Mish56, BSN, RN · May 26, 2008

I currently work in a large university hospital, our pay and staffing are competitive. Our patient population runs the socio-economic gambit. A few years back, I worked for one of the oldest free standing psych hospitals in the country (anyone want to guess where?). We had a very professional union, which kept our staffing levels safe. The thing that was the BIGGEST difference was that 99.99% of our patients were voluntary. They actually want help! If someone changed their mind, weren't ready, they could leave. they usually didn't, but somehow it changed everything, knowing tht they could. Where I work now, I would say 75% come in as involuntary, most end up signing in.

Mish56, BSN, RN · May 26, 2008

oh wait!!!!!!!!!!!!! And one more thing!! Did I ever block this out. :lol2: Very recently I worked for a "for profit" theraputic boarding school, owned by a large corporation who owns many treatment facilities around the USA (and maybe England). Some of the kids have minor behavior disruptions (compared to in-patient), but many are on more than one med, or are started on new ones with only one set of eyes (mine) to monitor response. They see their parents infrequently. As the ONLY nurse in the school, even their vacinations fell on me, that's nevermind the day to day illness of teens, training the entire faculty in first aid, multiple phone calls with stressed out parents, coordinating and trying to attend most MD appts, except those that did not require an interpretation to the parents, like the chiro, dentist, orthodontist. During my 1.5 years there, the census DOUBLED, the demands doubled, my salary stayed the same, and I was told "just deal with it!" I will NEVER, and I mean NEVER work for an organization that puts $$$ before decent care again. Something bad is going to happen there, and it's not going to be on my license! They will have their happy little (or big) profit, and no doubt they would hang me out to dry. OH! and to top it off, I was making the least I've made in years, but it was supposed to be M-F 8 hours a day, 2 miles from my house. I thought the trade off would be worth it...NOT

Rumor has it that the next nurse they hired lasted 2 days!

elkpark · May 26, 2008

I've been in nursing, and psych nursing specifically, for a very long time now, and have seen a lot over the years -- and I would go hungry before I'd work for a for-profit organization or facility. Just my personal view.