Kittenx

In my country we would report unsafe work to the managers as per our unsafe work forms provided by the college- we have a union and they automatically get involved. In the past we have had the labour board come in for unsafe 1:1 constant assignments and workload on the unit. If they were not adequately responsive to a patient assaulting staff, the labour board has also been called.

I would say at first I didn't see as many staff-patient interactions as I would have liked to see. As I worked more, I did see more.. I had a similar comment from someone I just oriented. Now, this is saying that the ratio at the facility is appropriate and the nurses have time to work with the clients. Psychiatric nursing is what you make of it. You can do one-to-ones, work on your therapeutic relationships/rapport, assess/re-assess, you can work on coping tools, spend time with the clients and be therapeutic with them. Or you can be an over-glorified babysitter who doesn't get involved, passes medications and charts. What you do is up to you. Your experience is what you make it. Edit: I just wanted to say that during my clinical rotation, I said that psych nursing is where nursing went to die. Its very different from the buzz of a medical unit. Yet I found myself here and I LOVE IT. I don't have the opinion at all now.

Agreed, that is an obscene workload. At most I get 7 patients in a tertiary care facility. I would find another job where the ratio is more appropriate. Or learn to do the best you can with what you have. For me, I would feel bad leaving patients that needed good experienced care. But also the risk to your license is quite high when overworked like that. I would feel conflicted in leaving the place for that reason, but you have to take care of yourself first before you can help others. My suggestions: Rotating well-practiced and condensed assessments on clients when working several days in a row... Triage these assessments and utilize time-limits with the client: "Hi patient A, I was wondering if we can chat and catch up on how you're doing. I have 10-15 minutes to meet with you..." Ensure you're doing assessments while giving medications especially on the ones you will not get to meet one-to-one. Find a way to condense and modify the delivery of your therapeutic interventions. Whether that be referring to resources, giving out homework for the clients, handing out printed out information on crisis services, coping tools, ensuring you follow-up and that you are holding longer-term clients accountable for being part of their own recovery and on developing their skills etc. Relying on multidisciplinary care involvement when you can. You will rely a lot on your social skills and therapeutic skills with patients to soften a blow of a nurse without enough time to give to everyone. You will have to set those boundaries on time in a safe manner- or cut to the chase and increase the support needed for a patient who is at risk via utilizing seclusion, one-to-one, sitting in the day room rather than dragging it out. No doubt its a very challenging job, but just some ideas.

I'm a psychiatric nurse that is a current patient. I spent the summer in a different hospital in a different city. I would not want to work at that hospital because I had very bad experiences with the staff there; very archaic thinking, we didn't get along and there was inappropriate behaviour to keep it short and sweet. Quite frankly, I should of reported a nurse for his behaviour towards me. But this doesn't particularly matter other than to let you know of my personal bias. With that being said I think what I am going to say next is very fair, although a bit blunt. It seems like you are very uncomfortable with the situation and his presence is creating a lot of discourse with the staff. I can't say that is a very supportive or accepting environment for him and that this is at heart a form of discrimination. You didn't outright say it, but its plain as day that the staff there do not think he should be working there. What you're telling us is gossip under the guise of concern. The staff there are being predictive. They are looking for things and they are going to find small things. Have you guys failed him before he has had a real opportunity to transition and find his way in his job? In mental health there is a level of intimacy and a fine balance between that intimacy and boundaries. One might see a nurse being friendly with a patient and state that there are boundary issues. Could that be what is happening here? If I saw a new staff member have boundary issues with a client, I would talk to them about it and support them. I think most nurses at some point run into boundary issues with a client and have to modify their approach to fix the issue. We don't know the situation and obviously there are constraints to each situation. One would not sit idly by while a patient is groomed or sexually abused by a provider. With the part of invading co-workers personal space, I imagine he is under the impression that he is not making someone uncomfortable, nor is he intending to. Or perhaps he is trying to fit in with some humour and missed the mark. Its hard to say because I wasn't there. Perhaps he is intentionally hitting on this person and is acting inappropriately. But perhaps not. You have to remember there are two sides to every story and then there is the truth. What was the social context of the situation. I think most people can take snapshots of each others behaviour and find impropriety if we ignore the context. On his end, of course there will be some adjustment issues and growing pains. This is because he had issues in the not so recent past, he is not comfortable with his co-workers and he is starting a new job. He will be experiencing a lot of emotions and memories as he works with clients as a provider. But at the core of his decision to work there, he wants to help. He wouldn't have put himself into such an uncomfortable situation otherwise. If given the opportunity, perhaps he won't be smuggling in contraband like some have commented- rather he will be an excellent care provider as someone who has lived experience and compassion for sufferers.. I don't know about you, but when I started any jobs, my co-workers were a incredible source of help and support. They taught me so much and I was quite thankful for them. I would encourage you to treat him like you would any co-worker that is starting a new job. Give them pointers, be friendly and supportive. Most of us know we have to be mindful of gossip at work and take things with a grain of salt sometimes. If that is the case, model supportive behavior to your peers. Take the high road.