hiphopRN

I work with adults (18+) of all diagnoses. However, our unit ends up getting a much higher percentage of psychotic and trauma patients than other diagnoses. When I first went into psych I wanted to be far away from psychotic disorders, now I can't get enough! I love all my patients, but like someone else said the axis II patients are definitely a challenge.

Our psych hospital has extremely limited visiting hours. 7p-8p M-F, 2p-4p Sa-Su and holidays. In certain cases we allow additional visits outside of visiting hours, but only in special cases. We also only allow outside food during the visit, we cannot store or allow the patients to keep outside food with them in the hospital.

I get $1/hr since I'm a designated Charge, but when people fill in and in the year I did it before getting "promoted" I got nada.

When I started nursing school with my psych degree, I was obviously interested in heading that way. But I was also not naive to the job market. I applied to my current employer but did not get a call or interview. So I looked elsewhere. I worked med/surg while I was waiting for something else to open up. You can know what you want to do but you just might not get it right away.

I've been told several times that I give pain-free injections...and I've had looooots of practice. And recently with doing blood draws at the clinic I've been volunteering at, I've been told they barely feel it when I stick them. I must have a way with needles. :)

We have our vending machines with chips, cookies, sodas and juice. I don't think I could do without them. We just got new kitchen staff which changed up our menu to more healthy options. I like having the options, but they close at 6pm. So if I'm running around with admissions or codes at the start of my shift I might not be able to get down there. Also, when I'm stressed there is nothing I want more than a sip of an ice cold soda. I think its a taste/texture thing for me.

Recently I'm working 16 hour days multiple times a week, so after work I shower then go to sleep. On my "usual" days I either stay in my scrubs until bed, or change into sweatpants and a hoodie. With my normal 3-11 schedule I'm usually up til like 3am doing housework or something while hubby sleeps.

Geographic location: Baltimore, MD Area Pay rate: $26.05 base +$3 for evenings +$1 for Charge = $30.05/hr In which area / specialty do you work? Psychiatric What type of license do you have (RN or LPN)? RN since 2011 What type of degree and/or certification do you have? ASN, will complete BSN in Dec 2014 How many years of experience do you have? 3.5 yrs Are you full-time, part-time, or casual / per diem / PRN status? Full Time What shift do you work? Evenings (3-11pm) Do you receive any shift differential? $3 for evenings, an additional $1 for nights and additional $1.5 for weekends. Are you a manager or supervisor? Charge Nurse and per diem Shift Supervisor

For us we can only lock doors if it was part of their treatment plan. The most common instances we use this for are med paneled patients that have been seen cheeking or spitting out medications. We lock their doors after they receive medications for ~30min or however long is dictated in the treatment plan. Very rarely do we lock for not participating, and that is only after they've been with us a few weeks and that is still only after we write it into the treatment plan.

Back in the day I was always an INFP, now I have slowly changed over to an ISFJ. ISFJ - psych

We've done 10-2-50 before but not 10-4-50. That sounds wonderful.

If I have cargo pants on like I usually do then its: Right upper pocket: Unit Cell phone, at least 1 pen, unit keys Right lower pocket: More pens (I usually have between 2 and 4 with me all the time) Left upper pocket: meds while I walk back from the pyxis, otherwise usually empty Left lower pocket: gloves (so many gloves!) and usually a couple pieces of scrap paper Then on my lanyard along with my badge I have a small flashlight, chapstick, and the CPR mask work gave me.

I do think Geodon is pretty effective, we usually do Geodon and Ativan though. We hate when the docs order Zyprexa IM most of the time because for the majority of our patients it doesn't ever phase them. I also tend to like the B52 better for emergencies because it can be torture waiting for the Geodon or Zyprexa to dilute. Also like others stated, we usually mix the Haldol and Ativan and then give the Benadryl separate.

So far we've never gotten gifts, but there are food events planned each day this week. They do a raffle as well so some people win things but the rest of us just get free food. Oh, and we usually get a potted plant/flower too. We have a new clinical director this year, so not sure if that will change things.

My coworkers and I have talked about this recently and are requesting one for our new facility. If not for every unit at least for ours. We get the more aggressive patients, the self injurious patients, and the screamers so it would work well for us. For those that like to punch walls and all provided alternatives do not work, at least they could punch these walls and not cause as much harm. It would also help keep the other patients from being disrupted by all the screaming if it could help dampen some of the noise.

Yes there are risks to all medications but like Mandychelle79 said once you see people that are driven to attempt suicide because of the voices or their deep depression you see that they meds can be helpful. Not everyone that comes to an inpatient psych facility will need medications, but once you see someone clear up from their psychosis or have them tell you they are no longer thinking of committing suicide, it can be the best feeling in the world. For many people that doesn't happen without medications. And for those medications with possible serious side effects we make sure they are aware, monitor closely and note any changes. I always try to inform my patients of any possible risks from the medications so that they can participate in their treatment. If a patient feels strongly about not taking medications, we counsel them about their options and how to deal with their symptoms without medications.

Our facility recently went to this policy as well. When I first started we had standing PRN IMs to be given in emergency situations, but now we have to call during each emergency situation to get IMs. We are able to have the attending put IMs "on hold" so that we know what to recommend to the on call doctor if something happens, but we still have to call a doctor prior to administering any emergency IMs.

This. We try to keep it empty in case we need it for an emergency, but since we have all double rooms, we frequently offer it for patients to use when they are getting overwhelmed by the activity in the lounge and want some time completely by themselves for a while.

BS (psychology) 21 AS Nursing 24 And I will finish my BSN in Dec at 28 Then do my MSN hopefully before 35

I'm in the on ground RN program and am graduating in may. In our third semester we had some students join us from the LPN to RN program. I am not sure if they have an online option. But I do know that once you get accepted you take a class during the summer and then join for the next two semesters. After you take the summer class you could probably switch to online for the next two semesters. I often hear about students switching back and forth from online to on ground. Good luck everyone.

My view on it is that I do have to worry about it when its someone in my clinical group that consistently shows up late EVERY SINGLE CLINICAL and puts more work on us because of her lateness. Lateness because she wouldn't get up early enough to take her daughter to the babysitter and then got stuck in traffic. If you're getting stuck in traffic at the same time each day for 2 semesters then LEAVE EARLIER! After 2 semesters of constantly being late to class and clinical because she can't get her life in order and thinks that her issues are more important than the rest of us, you do get a bit of anger and annoyance toward that person.

Just wanted to update my post since I've learned more about the job. I'll be getting to learn and do phlebotomy, EKGs, start IVs, along with the daily patient care and normal tech duties.

I just got hired in Baltimore as a Nursing Student/PCT at almost 14.75/hr. With only 1 year of my 2 year program finished. I guess it really depends on where you're living.

1. Go to a bookstore and look through the NCLEX books they have. Find one that works for you with its format and layout. Preferably one that has rationales for right and wrong answers so you can understand why something is right or wrong. Don't just buy an NCLEX book because someone else says its the best. Buy one (or two) that work for you and the way you learn. 2. DO PRACTICE QUESTIONS. ALL THE TIME. EVERYDAY. Doing NCLEX style questions is the only way you will learn how to answer them. Some teachers even use practice books to help them write their exam questions. Not copying from the book but the format or idea of the question. 3. The only person that will get you through the program is yourself. You can work with study groups and things but in the end it all comes down to how well you understand and process the information thats been given to you. If you don't understand something, ASK. Don't be afraid to meet with instructors or other students if it will help YOU learn it better. 4. The instructors are there to help you. But if you get one instructor mad at you, you often end up with many of them mad at you. Be nice to the instructors and they will be nice to you. 5. If you need scholarships or are going for a super competitive internship then maybe you might need a higher GPA, but usually just make sure you get that 75 or whatever the benchmark is you need and be happy about it. The GPA won't matter once you pass the NCLEX, just make sure your low GPA doesn't mean you don't know the information well enough to pass.

Just wanted to say a quick congrats to everyone that got in to CCBC!! I just finished my second semester in the Catonsville Day program. I hope you guys have fun with Fundamentals and don't get too intimidated or fall behind too much. As a class we've decided Fundamentals is like boot camp...once you make it through you should have the right study habits and other abilities to get through the rest of the program. Good Luck!!