blackstarryskye

FYI- everyone learns in a different way and some of us have a mental picture of what certain conditions look like on the outside of the pt. For instance, someone suffering from CHF may have difficulty breathing, be pale, or be sitting in a certain position to help them breathe better. Mentally ill patients also present in often common ways. One who is responding to internal stimuli, such as auditory hallucinations, may often be noted to pause (as if waiting) while speaking, seem to be following directions from an unseen source, etc. Thinking of a psych patient in this manner is no stigmatizing than thinking of the CHF patient in a particular way. The questioner was asking for a personal way to remember info about meds, not asking an opinion on how to write a publicly-read journal article. Recognizing common characteristics of many illnesses makes for an excellent basis for using criticial thinking skills; pretending things are not occuring because of fear of not being "p.c." leaves one looking at things blindly. Many excellent mental health resources are published covering this and other issues, including the Journal of the American Psychiatric Association, and the Harvard Mental Health Newsletter. You might try reading some of them RN2begin.

How very sad, but I bet very profitable. There must be plenty out there waiting to get in for 'Hotel Hospital', not to mention the ones hiding from the law/court. Wonder how joint commision feels about it?

I waited a little while before posting so someone else could jump in but I guess it's just the two of us. We've been fed the same line as you about there not being any nurses and no money. Somehow I'm thinking if they are offering new nurses the 'no money' special employment package, they are never going to find any! It's just another blow off to let you know they aren't recruiting hard enough. Psych historically is rated at the bottom of the moneymaker pile (the glorious OB wards and shiny new cath labs are the "important" things). There must be some business model out there somewhere that says, 'don't sink any more money into a unit than it will likely bring in'. Until one of their own is affected......Look at this place I found that sounds like heaven! http://www.southeastmissourihospital.com/nursing/psych.htm

Soon 2B: Lots of the same classifications have similar side effects (dry mouth, dizziness, fatrigue). Everone's memory retains differently--would making a table/list help? Or drawing a pic of a psychotic person for antipsychotics? Or maybe reading case study examples..just a thought. BSS

Wow, very interesting..the Hilton part. What kinds of comments do you hear from the patients? Do they percieve they are getting better in this type of environment? What kind of populations do you see?

The official psych spin is that there is a difference between being a zombie and being slowed to the point of functional/'normal', which many more manicky people don't care for because they can't get as much done. Pro's and con's.......

Sometimes the things we fear the most are because of lack of knowledge. Ever consider ACLS/megacode training? :)BSS

right now call a psychiatrist for an appointment! i just flipped over from the psych nurse forum (i have been one for 18 yrs) and saw your post. why can't the dr get your meds right? he's not a psychiatrist! please know that psych meds are the psychiatrist's specialty. i can't tell you how many times we have had a pt admitted to fix the medical dr's screw up! think about it--medical docs learn and have to know about hundreds of meds. psychiatrists specialize only in psych meds. you are not crazy but you do have an illness that needs treatment. please at least make a consultation appointment and give it a try. no insurance? look for your county's community mental health center or go on the nimh (national institute of mental health) or nami (national alliance for the mentally ill) sites to find adjusted-fee resources. each state has funds set aside for cases like yours! why not take care of yourself and be happy. i bet everyone in your life will notice a difference, especially those living in your house! take care, bss

I'm looking for opinions about staffing ratios in regards to safety on the inpt unit. Of course the hospital is always trying to save money plus our unit director has only been there 6 months and doesn't want to look ineffective. He is looking at ways to spread us even thinner, while accepting even sicker psych pts plus medically compromised geriatrics. I have tried to point out that injury and assault rates for staff tend to increase with overwork, overstress, and low staffing levels. He refuses to believe there is any link, even though I have provided government (OSHA) and national nsg journal references. What is your situation? Did you ever have similar issues and how did you handle it? BSS

hi! sorry to hear of the inconsistencies on your unit, makes it hard to manage the unit well. i work on a 23-bed inpt unit taking adolescent to elderly patients, voluntary and not. here's what we do: if a patient is admitted involuntarily, do they receive permission to leave the unit unaccompanied for short breaks? ie smoking breaks we are not a free-standing unit, only a unit in the hospital. so, pts don't leave except for a rare pass or for d/c. we use nicotine patches. do you allow patients immediate access their chart on verbal demand? no, they must wait until after d/c, then go down to medical records, sign the approp. consent and get the records, not sure if $ involved. do you place patients in pj's on admission if they are deemed a flight risk? all pts go into gowns on admit and for 24 hrs for safety. do you return a patients clothing to them when they have not been assessed by a psychiatrist? not usually do you allow patients to have unrestricted access to mp3 players or cell phones? no; the thought is they need to be in groups. at free time, there is a radio system in each pt's room, there are puzzles/games, and a unit pay phone (which we control-turn off during groups). hopes this helps! bss