edorn

I just finished a book loaned to me by one of my nursing students called the quiet room. It is very intense, and told from the world of the person with hallucinations. edorn

I agree with your statement. I have a lot of stories as I was appointed to provide spirituality groups to the child/adolescent population in both inpatient and partial hospitalization settings. One day a particularly disturbed boy from the partial program needed to be in the locked seclusion room after an explosive rage episode which included sexually graphic body movements and verbalizations. This boy was practically foaming at the mouth as he gyrated and leaped almost super-humanly in the locked room. He was screaming and laughing hysterically. I whispered, "in the name of Jesus Christ, let that boy go". There was no way the boy could have heard me. He abruptly stopped mid-leap, stared at me, cowered and sat down, and was immediately docile. I released him and he was fine the rest of the day. I have no other explanation for this than a spiritual warfare event. edorn

I applaud your decision as we know that perpetrators were once the victim. I have worked with many adolescent offenders and they are a mess of woundedness and their ability to appreciate appropriate boundaries has often been destroyed during their own molestation. I am curious, though. What was your experience in eating disorders, as I have just transferred from child/adolescent behavioral/mental health partial hospital setting to a new program for edo partial hospital program. Any insights you can share, the patients will be from age 13-21 thanks, edorn

I feel your pain, even felt a little triggered just reading your post. I too was traumatized in the mental health day treatment child/adolescent program where I just resigned my position after developing anxiety attacks following 2 assaults that happened INSIDE my office while I already was on restriction for a shoulder injury due in part to the twisting and pulling on my arms while doing take downs on violent patients.The manager (a psychologist who has a bleeding heart for the criminal teens but none for the staff ) refused to dismiss these 200 lb, 6 feet tall thugs who daily threatened bodily harm to us and said the most horrible graphic things, ripped up the place, kicked holes in the walls and threw furniture and used any object as a weapon,and when we expressed our fear we heard some stupid rhetoric about "some people get burned out". My anxiety and fear began permeating other areas of life. My husband pleaded with me daily to stop working there. Finally after a rather severe episode of shaking, heart pounding, nearly irresistable urge to run out of the treatment center, I realized that this setting was destroying me. You have got to trust what your body is telling you: you are on the path of destruction to mind/body/soul. As far as cobra goes, I believe you do not have to pay it up front. You have something like 60 days to make the first payment/installment. With the nursing shortage as it is, search, search, search. How about home health care?? Lots of creative jobs these days are posted on the internet nursing job lines. I have been blessed, as I printed up my notice of termination, I found an ad in the newspaper looking for a nurse to participate in opening a new program for eating disorder teens/young adults in the same institution, applied for and got accepted for the position. NO JOB is worth what you are going through Ms Piggy. Please tell us next week that you have taken the first step to get out of that dangerous place!! edorn

you are NOT over-reacting. We have had lots of potential weapons brought in that even the wands did not detect. Our institution recently upgraded this security level after the run of school shootings last month. You cannot be too scrupulous about this matter. We have those who enter pull out their pockets. Yes, this is offensive to some.

I would be happy to try to respond to questions you may have. I have worked for some time on acute inpatient settings across the lifespan and also am a psych nursing instructor. I also know how you might feel as I entered psych nursing after over 20 yrs med/surg edorn

Hey everyone, This is my first post. I am so glad I stumbled onto this particular thread. I am a psychiatric nurse and also a BSN nursing instructor, and I take my students to clinical to my practice setting!! I have 8 students who are beginning to embrace psych nursing because I have been able to demonstrate to them that psych nursing is the soul of ALL nursing. After all, we all have a soul, and that does not get checked at the door when entering a medical care setting! We are all psych nurses at some level since we approach care with a holistic framework. I am sorry to hear that any instructor would discourage a student from this exciting field. Any student who feels this calling should be extemely supported to enter this field. I happen to specialize in child/adolescent mental health and it is heartbreaking but important work to intervene in the life of youth before they develop lifetime habitual destructive patterns of behavior. Mental health settings are the place where the nurse is so uniquely a living therapeutic intervention. Please do not let anyone discourage you from exploring this specialty. There are plenty of medical issues among the mental health population as well, so don't think it is some sort of second class nursing practice. Regards, edorn