leejandsue

I can't believe I found someone from east tennessee in this board. I am also from east tennessee so as far as salary, depends on your experience. You should apply at Indian Path Pavilion. Mountain States Health Alliance pays competitive salary for this area. Seems like we are always hiring. Good luck. http://www.msha.com/

You have to empathetic. You have to be tolerant of acting out behavior. Children just being themselves, or adults acting like children. You have to know how to set limits. You have to be able to enforce consequences when rules are broken. The pros are that the job is never boring, sometimes entertaining, and often very stressful. You meet some very nice people, and also some very needy, demanding people. Sometimes you meet people who like to abuse the system (trying to get a free ride from the government), people trying to avoid jail time, and sometimes people just needing someone to talk to. All in all, it is a rewarding career.

I have been a psych nurse for 7 years. I have an associate degree in nursing and was going to pursue bachelors in psych, but after a lot of research a psych degree is pretty much worthless unless you get a masters or phd. Psych degree would only be good for enjoyment. If you want to get a degree that will eventually make you some money, get a masters in nursing, preferably nurse practitioner. After you get a nursing degree and work in psych for 2 years, you can get ancc certified in mental health nursing. You probably won't have a problem in getting that first psych nursing job, but would not hurt to work as a psych tech first, or perhaps work part time in a group home for mentally ill, or even work in a nursing home on a alzheimers unit, while you are finishing your degree. vollunteer work in a place that works with mentally handicapped may be an option also. any kind of "psych" experience will benefit you when you go for the first interview for that first psych nurse job. Good luck, Lee