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NurseNinja1990

NurseNinja1990

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NurseNinja1990's Latest Activity

  1. NurseNinja1990

    Lost Integrity: When Nursing Students Cheat

    NurseNinja1990 replied to J.Adderton's topic in Students

    After I left my final last semester, I heard one girl literally had her phone out during the exam and was looking up answers. I felt cheated because I spent so much time studying, but took solace in that she is going to be in serious trouble when it comes time for boards if she hasn't learned the material.
  2. NurseNinja1990

    Inpatient or Outpatient for future PMHNP?

    NurseNinja1990 replied to AlcRoc's topic in Psychiatric

    Honestly, if I had the choice I'd go outpatient full time and per diem inpatient. Inpatient can be incredibly demanding and challenging, but you'll learn so so much.
  3. NurseNinja1990

    Transitioning to Psych / tips wanted!

    NurseNinja1990 replied to FunnerRN's topic in Psychiatric

    Congrats! A few things I usually include in the report: 1. Diagnosis of the patient. I'd become familiar with some common psych diagnosis, their common medications, and their presentations 2. The last time they received any emergency treatment medications in case you need to give another dose. 3. Medical comorbidities and allergies 4. A brief summary of why they're here, and if they have any past incidences of aggression or violence on the unit. The strongest predictor of violence is a history of it. 5. Their legal status. There are special rules governing patients who are voluntarily versus involuntarily committed. I'd leave the stethoscope and definitely the scissors locked up. Be mindful of anything on your person that may be used as a weapon.
  4. NurseNinja1990
    A few things I can think of. 1. Join the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. 2. Get Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) certified. 3. Learn the role of the PMHNP and the scope of practice in your state. 4. Most importantly, get Psych experience. I worked on several types of inpatient units of all ages for several years before applying and it put me wayyyyyy ahead of everyone else in my class because of my experience and prior knowledge.
  5. NurseNinja1990

    Nursing Job Change: Jump Ship or Sit Tight? 5 Things to Consider

    NurseNinja1990 replied to jeastridge's topic in Nurses

    I jumped into psych right out of school and haven't looked back :) Not for everyone, but I love it.
  6. NurseNinja1990

    Many nurses do not chart?

    NurseNinja1990 replied to Tele RN 92's topic in Nurses

    I just learned some keyboard shortcuts that really cut down on my charting time. That, and videogames have made me a fast typer lol Some examples: TAB to go to the next section, and SPACE to select the first option. Alternate SPACE and TAB and you can fly through the chart under the sections where you found no abnormal assessments.
  7. NurseNinja1990

    Dodged a swift kick to the face today

    NurseNinja1990 posted a topic in Psychiatric

    During a code situation I finally had a clear shot to give an injection to a combative patient and right as I finished getting the Thorazine and Benadryl in he broke loose from one of the staff holding his leg. I dodged to the side and he missed my face by mere inches. Anyone else have any close calls like this in psych? As much as I love my job, I'm definitely excited to finish my PMHNP and move to outpatient or private practice out of the line of fire.
  8. NurseNinja1990

    Is spending $80,000 on a private ABSN school a waste

    NurseNinja1990 replied to Big_Mike's topic in Students

    Dang, I'm getting my masters for 30k. I'd definitely scout all the options first. In my experience, the BSN didn't boost my salary much. Not to say that I didn't get a lot from my education however, and it did make me a better nurse.
  9. NurseNinja1990

    Floating

    NurseNinja1990 replied to Crush's topic in Nurses

    I'm a psych nurse and even floating between age groups can be a challenge. I have experience with adults and geri psych, so when I float to peds psych I feel completely out of place. The developmental stages and behavioral issues are so different; I have a hard time knowing what to say to a kid in distress versus and adult. That and all the laws are so different regarding minors and adults in psych- for example length of time in restrains without needing another order is significantly shorter for kids. I guess what I'm trying to say is floating anywhere is hard.
  10. NurseNinja1990

    Interview this week in Acute Adult Psychiatric Unit!

    NurseNinja1990 replied to kingvonnBSN2017's topic in Psychiatric

    I'd be weary of geri-psych if I were you, but that's just from my own experience. Psych nursing tends to have larger nurse-patient ratios and, while they may be medically cleared, it does not mean that the comorbidities could act up at any time. Geri comes with falls, aspiration risks, skin tears, fractures, code blue's, you name it. I used to work geri but thankfully got into adult. Serious props to those geri psych nurses, it is a VERY difficult psych population. Best of luck!
  11. NurseNinja1990

    Ethical issue regarding antipsychotic

    NurseNinja1990 replied to ksusn's topic in Nurses

    I'm a psych nurse so I'll jump in on this. We get multiple aggressive and violent patients a day so here's a few phrases I've used to get them to take their anti-psychotics: "This helps organize your thoughts" "This will help with your anxiety" "You'll feel more calm" "It will help with the voices" "You'll be able to get some rest" "It's for your mental health" I've seen everything from spitting out the pill, becoming verbally/physically aggressive, to straight up tipping the med cart and beating a nurse for using the word "anti-psychotic". You use your judgment like you would with any other kind of patient with safety of the patients and your staff as your priority.
  12. NurseNinja1990

    Health Care is Not a Right

    NurseNinja1990 replied to Tetra's topic in Activism

    I really hesitated to jump in on this, but here I go. I think healthcare should be a right solely from an empathetic and ethical point of view. Who are we so say that, because I was born healthy and without an expensive chronic illness to manage, that I don't have the duty as another human being to help someone who does? Heck, I could get into a car accident on my way home from my shift today and owe hundreds of thousands in medical bills even with my insurance. I don't think that due to someone's outstanding circumstances or genetic predisposition that they deserve to be financially ruined. There are plenty of things I wish my paycheck didn't go to, from wars to corporate tax breaks, but I still pay. I would be delighted to know my money was going towards something that, while doesn't benefit me directly now, was helping another human being. It's not just about taxation, it's the right thing to do for the benefit of everyone, especially for those most vulnerable.
  13. NurseNinja1990

    Hurricane Irma

    NurseNinja1990 replied to GetBackToClassRN's topic in School

    I live in Miami and am going to be working during the hurricane as part of the disaster team. Praying it won't be more than a few days, but am bringing a ton of supplies for while I'm living at the hospital just in case.
  14. NurseNinja1990

    Being Gay and a Male Nursing Student

    NurseNinja1990 replied to RShieldsSN14's topic in Male Students

    Amen! Seriously, some of the comments here are borderline homophobic. I'm gay and you just tell your patients it's none of their business.
  15. NurseNinja1990

    Does anyone here actually like being a CNA?

    NurseNinja1990 replied to Veronicax's topic in CNA/MA

    I worked as a CNA in a nursing home when I was in college to help pay for my housing. The place was horribly under-staffed, and I came home aching everywhere and smelling of feces every shift. It was a truly miserable, but humbling experience that made me all the more motivated to finish nursing school. It sucked but I'm glad I did it. Edit: I was also a home health care aide at the time- now that was a great job. I helped a lot of disabled people do their ADL's and had one woman who I just had to take out on the town for 6 hours on Sundays. Only downside was one time a dementia patient tried to shank me with a butter knife, but it did prepare me well for psych, lol!
  16. NurseNinja1990

    Just took NCLEX...

    NurseNinja1990 replied to amh90's topic in NCLEX

    Deep breaths honey, I took 230 questions and passed haha. Cried before, during, and afterwards; convinced I had failed. I ended up passing but it was traumatic.
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