NCindasun21

Hello Experts! My daughter has asked me to take a doula certification program so I can be present for the delivery of my first grandchild. I've been an RN for 18 years, the last 10 in Mental Health. I do a lot with complementary medicine and am a ...

Hi! I just sat through our VISNs Town Hall and during the open mic there were several questions about retention and sign on bonuses being offered since so many nurses are leaving for remote jobs. Only certain existing RNs are being offered...

Hello, Looking for VA BHIP / Mental Health nurses to pick your brains for a Shared Governance project we are working on in my VISN. We've spent nearly 2 years working from home or rotating into the clinic. Most Veterans have had no idea we w...

"Booty Juice"

I had terrible plantar fasciitis a few years back. Too many years of wearing clogs they tell me. My sister is a surgeon and she wears MTBs. The toe box was too small for my fat toes but the clerk at the Good Feet store recommended that I try Chung...

Agreed. I have had many MHWs that were Psych majors. Some decided to go on to nursing school, others not. It's definitely a good intro to in-patient psych and we always need MHWs who are educated and interested.

Patient to staff ratio - how many nurses vs mental health workers are on the unit. If there are more than 12 patients, one nurse may have difficulty doing it all. Turnover is a red flag. If you get to meet some staff, ask how long they have been t...

Thirty bed unit - 6 pts to 1 STAFF member with preference going to MHWs. On any given day the RN is the only nurse and that includes giving meds and attending rounds. The burn out rate is very high.

I work Child/Adolescent and I'd honestly be surprised if they ask you any serious questions on the interview. For our hospital it's been hard to find experienced psych nurses so we've been getting a lot of new grads. Here are some of the issues I ...

Greetings! I've been given an awesome opportunity to work with some active duty patients. Some have been on deployments but others are just out of boot camp. Some love the USMC others just want out. Some are dealing with PTSD, others don't like to...

Jeckrn, I am an RN in a private hospital that has had a wing contracted by the military for an extended period of time. Any ideas that would be appropriate? I did Sleep Hygiene yesterday, jazzing it up with different forms of media and examples of...

Here are the topics that I feel are currently relevant to child/adolescent psych. I wish more staff would be exposed to these issues. It's what my kids are facing. Bullying - including cyber Eating disorders - Athletes are overlooked. Pressure to m...

Greetings! I've found myself with an opportunity I'd like to explore. The facility I work at is starting to see a lot of returning soldiers with PTSD. I've been studying up on the topic and have completed the VA's PTSD 101 course. I've not yet app...

Greetings fellow psychics I work on the Acute side of a psych hospital that is going through a major turnover. Nurses are leaving to go to larger hospitals in the area, most staying in Psych. Our ratio is 1:6 and that includes nurses and mental hea...

Thank you. I'm going to print out your saying tonight and have it hung by tomorrow. Bless you!

As a student nurse I drew the "lucky" card to do a one day phlebotomy training. After practicing setting up, reviewing which tubes are for which labs, etc, I was ready. A little nervous, but ready. My very first draw was to be from a heroin addic...

I just worked the worst two days I've had in a long time. I've got 12 boys in an Acute setting and the majority of them have been diagnosed with ODD, one has anti-social tendencies, one with RAD, and one autistic. Our census guidelines allow me to ...

Hello fellow psychics :) I'm trying to put together a "cheat sheet" of sorts on documentation for a new grad nurse I'm working with. While looking at some charts I noticed that many nurses start their notations with "Pt exhibits labile affect and irr...

I have found that reading first person accounts of mental illness has given me more insight to what my patients are experiencing than most subject matter books. Recent reads have been Mind Race: A Firsthand Account of One Teenager's Experience with...

Thanks so much!

I'm wondering what kinds of things you have on your units for younger patients. We're looking into getting more than just crayons and coloring books but are concerned about the safety of some items. What works for you? What didn't? Thanks!

Thank you. Great ideas!

Dizzylizzydog, With so many large corporations taking over mental health, where exactly does one move on to?

Details please? I'm looking for hope... Hope that we'll go to electronic charting Hope that management strives to make things better, even if it involve tough change Hope that serious effort is put into milieu activities Hope that staff will be held...

I work on a 31 bed Child & Adolescent Acute ward. With Christmas just days away I asked what was planned for the kids. To my surprise I was told "Nothing" but was given the ok if I wanted to do something to switch things up a bit. I'm hoping ...