Angel79

Hello Psychguy, I have been a psych nurse for 4.5 years now and only four months of a med-surg floor after graduation. I have been interested in psych travel nursing for some time now. Have you ever traveled as a psych nurse? I'm debating between traveling and getting my NP in psych. If you were chosing, which would you choose? Do you like being a psych NP? Thanks for your input!

Hello Anymeans, Congrats! on your new career as a nurse. I graduated from nursing school in 2010, worked on a med-surg floor for about four months and was hired for a position in metal health. I have been working in mental health since that time. I feel that strictly working in mental health has limited me for future positons. I'm not saying you shouldnt take the job because as someone has already mentioned you can gain valuable knowledge in any position. I suggest taking the job, but keep your options open!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello Fawnsternurse I hope that you receive this reply. I feel that you would have very useful information to give me regarding travel psych nursing. I have been psych nursing now for three years and i'm looking to travel. I have not had 15 posts on here so I can not pm yet.

I don't know if anyone is still reading this post but I'm a new nurse also and was let go. I have been working at a rural hospital in the town I went to school in.I have been working there for 3 months. I was a tech there for 1 month because I was waiting for my license. ( I have been a tech before, but not at that hospital) Within that 1 month time, I was often called off work due to low census. When I got my licensure as an RN my nurse manager came to the night shift and worked with us for 2weeks(me and two other new nurses), and then I was left on my own with 4 to 5 patients a night, praying that I did not get any more admissions. My charge nurse had about 5 patients themselves, no tech on the floor and no preceptor. This is a busy acute floor and it seemed like all through the night the ER would send these patients to our floor. I was told before I took the job that it was extremely hard and the nurse manager was not a good person to work for. I would often get overwhelmed with prioritizing, admissions would throw me extremely behind, I was getting better at passing my meds (at least I thought I was.) Every night when I came to work, the day shift nurses would be behind and its hard to fix the mess when you don't know where to start. I wish today I would have listened to the people who were trying to tell me not to take the job. My friend who started with me has already quit and moved to a new job(and its not in med-surg) The turn over rate is horrible, I was getting trained by nurses that have only been there for less than a year themselves. I feel disgusted, hurt, and sad. I cried almost everyday when I came home from work and feel like I have ulcers the size of baseballs in my stomach. I have never been fired from a job before, I feel like I let myself down and wonder if nursing is even for me anymore. I'm scared to apply to other hospitals in fear that the same thing will happen again. I don't know what to do now? any suggestions out there?