stephva1008

stephva1008

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All Content by stephva1008

  1. question about psych nursing

    stephva1008 replied to shelbee1084's topic in Psychiatric

    I'm of the mind that it's better to get some M/S experience under your belt, hone your assessment skills, etc. But on a adult psych unit, you will get those skills too. Patients don't leave their...

  2. Do psych nurses actually make a difference?

    stephva1008 replied to Lola77's topic in Psychiatric

    I work with kids and teens and the nurses take turns being "in milieu." We get to do issue work with the kids and be a counselor. So, yes, we make a difference. Even as a charge, you make a...

  3. Breaking into Mental Health

    stephva1008 replied to Rylee2008's topic in Psychiatric

    As a nursing student, you could be a psych tech for sure, esp if you can get a job when you graduate there. I love new grads because they don't have any bad habits established yet and you can really...

  4. WOW!!!!!!!!!

    stephva1008 replied to mRpeNa's topic in Psychiatric

    Yeah, you have to separate their history with their current behavior. We do side hugs only when asked. These abused kids need lots of structure. Many of them have had multiple placements and know...

  5. Pediatric Psychiatric Nursing

    stephva1008 replied to medgirlRN's topic in Psychiatric

    You asked about RN role. In our unit, we usually have 2 RN's on, 1 in charge and 1 "in milieu." The milieu nurse will do admissions and take a patient assignment, lead groups, do 1:1 counseling and...

  6. Pediatric Psychiatric Nursing

    stephva1008 replied to medgirlRN's topic in Psychiatric

    Love it. Wouldn't do anything else. Plan to eventually become a Pediatric Psych NP. Did M/S, ICU, ED before I fell in love with psych. Go for

  7. Finding Jobs...

    stephva1008 replied to amphigouri's topic in Psychiatric

    I wouldn't say any harder than any other type of nursing job. Every hospital I worked at had vacancies across the board. You could always pursue residential facilities, detox, and state/VA hospitals...

  8. Your facilities position on using "float" nurses to psych?

    stephva1008 posted a topic in Psychiatric

    Do they use nurses who work in all areas of the hospital on your psych unit? Do they have to be fingerprinted, go through MANDT training (or MAB or whatever aggression training you use)? We're...

  9. Insomnia meds for psych patients?

    stephva1008 replied to medsurgrnco's topic in Psychiatric

    working with kids, we have a "pathway" of sorts that we use. First, Benadryl. if not effective, Trazodone. If still not effective (after having increased dosage of Trazodone), then Seroquel. We...

  10. Advice on Choosing a Job - MUCH shorter version!

    stephva1008 replied to ivyleaf's topic in Psychiatric

    I like Job A. Sounds like a therapeutic environment for patients and staff. Go for

  11. Physical Restraints on Acute Child and Adolescent Unit

    stephva1008 replied to tconlgirl's topic in Psychiatric

    We don't use 5 point restraints either. We do use 4 point restraints and only on very rare occasions and never for longer than 2 hours start to finish. We rarely use seclusion and restraint (maybe...

  12. Starting as a new grad on night shift

    stephva1008 replied to pinkiepie_RN's topic in Psychiatric

    I agree! Nights is a great place to find your feet, get used to charting, policies, etc. And less visitors, less "brass" (admin), less doctors. I've worked nights for 13 years. I'd never go to...

  13. Your facilities position on using "float" nurses to psych?

    stephva1008 replied to stephva1008's topic in Psychiatric

    Talked more with my UM today about this. All our float nurses have had the same background check that all other mental health personnel get, so that's good. No other training though. There's talk...

  14. Advise please

    stephva1008 replied to texasbsn's topic in Psychiatric

    We have 15 beds on our unit. Not too many medical issues other than upset stomach, vomiting, fevers, etc. Some EPS, some diabetic kids. And the injuries from roughhousing, of course You'll do...

  15. Psych Nursing jobs as a new graduate

    stephva1008 replied to LolaBunnie's topic in Psychiatric

    We hire new grads all the time in

  16. Psych nursing to medical nursing

    stephva1008 replied to lizzlebizzle's topic in Psychiatric

    I think this time in our history with the recession is not a good time to quit a nursing job without another lined up. I would just keep plugging along trying to find something but don't quit without...

  17. Psych Medications

    stephva1008 replied to Toothbrushx2's topic in Psychiatric

    we do this too on our kids who come in. 8 times out of 10 their triglycerides are elevated. Atypicals are notorious for the metabolic syndrome. We do a coronary risk panel on any antipsychotic and...

  18. Psych Nurses that would be willing to interview for a college project

    stephva1008 replied to sfreders's topic in General Nursing

    I can help you. Im in child and adolescent

  19. New Grad

    stephva1008 replied to mmfry1979's topic in Psychiatric

    Would probably take the regular ED position to get your feet wet in more of the medical and get your assessment skills honed. You could always go back to the Psych ED after a year or two in regular....

  20. Hello Psych Nurses & Future Psych Nurses, Please Read

    stephva1008 replied to little_miss_hulk's topic in Psychiatric

    I agree, you should do a few months on med-surg, just to get your feet wet. I've done med-surg, adult psych, child residential on a sex offenders unit, ICU/ED/Trauma, telephone triage, and now...

  21. A little freaked out. Need advice.

    stephva1008 replied to phinur's topic in Psychiatric

    It won't be the last time to happen, i'm sure. Having other staff as witnesses and never being a closed room with a patient will help. Where I work, with child and adolescents, we don't let guys go...