wezzie, RN

I work on a 20 bed, acute inpatient unit at a hospital. We see everyone across the board from depressed and suicidal to psychotic. Substance abuse, malingering and everything in between. Lately, I see more staff engaging in the hardball approach whe...

Indeed.. safety first.. always.. Im's, seclusion, restraints.. whatever needs to be done when all the least restrictive measures have been exhausted..

Very well said. Not just what I quoted, but your entire post. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

The law in my state as it's written.. Subd. 12.Right to refuse care. Competent patients and residents shall have the right to refuse treatment based on the information required in subdivision 9. Residents who refuse treatment, medication, or diet...

I understand that, and that is often the case on our unit too. I understand the frustration with "frequent flyers" as well. But, as I understand patient rights and the law, patients have a right to refuse and decide for themselves what's "in their be...

Not very therapeutic I reckon.. it's unfortunate the system is still lumping so many diverse, unique illnesses experienced by diverse, unique human beings all under one banner of "mental health". One size definitely does not fit all.. every individu...

My apologies wingding.. I meant no offense towards you or your unit.. I have seen people treated like crap on my unit. At least as I perceive and believe.. Peace..

Thanks for all the perspectives! .. Much appreciated.. I've talked to my unit educator about adding some mandatory education on patient rights.. I'm not going to be silent about it..

Sounds rigid.. and elkpark is right. Voluntary or not, I don't think there's any states that allow medicating outside of emergencies without a specific hearing and orders. My state, Antipsychotics are the ONLY class of medication that courts have jur...

Exactly.. if it was me, I'd do the opposite out of principle alone.

For sure, the vast majority of our patients have the capacity to be their own boss and the ones that may not, we, well, at least, I, wouldn't even encourage group attendance. They may not always make what someone else would consider a good decision,...

Thanks! .. I'll check it out.. Just to clarify too.. this is a short term, acute unit. We are designed for stabilization, nothing more. We really don't have "residents", although with the shortage of available services, unfortunately some people can ...

Indeed, I prefer to talk to them, find out what they want, encourage them, explore alternatives, etc. When someone needs antipsychotics and refuses, physicians are required by law to submit a commitment/Jarvis petition to the county courts. If it's d...

Thanks Twoyearnurse.. :) Oddly enough, I think the experience made me a much better psych nurse..

I'm guessing they will eventually refer you to a state monitoring program. I think they'll be more concerned about the overdose and depression rather than the + marijuana screen, but I'd expect that would be part of the monitoring contract. Frequent,...

Whenever someone said that to me.. "you'll lose your skills" .. I always replied.. "I'm a new grad, I don't have any skills to lose" .. I graduated 3 years ago and have been doing acute, inpatient psych since.. I absolutely LOVE my job.. Funny.. in m...

I graduated last spring, work adult inpatient psych, love it, was my first choice of specialty. Quite passionate about it. I did my Capstone last year in an ER, loved it, was a close second choice of specialty and woulda got a job if the hospital I d...

Love love love psych.. Graduated last year and have been working on an acute adult inpatient unit for 8 months..

Not Bizarre to practice what you're going to be doing for patients in your clinical rotations and career.. not a big deal. Not only did we have to do this but were tested out on it with several people failing and having to repeat.. Part of it was as...

Hahahahahaha

Thanks for the congrats.. but stay positive.. seriously.. my class of 48 has done really well. I think about 1/2 had jobs before graduation even, several worked as CNA's, PCA's, etc.. but many didn't. If you're truly passionate about nursing, posi...

I graduated this spring.. I've had 3 interviews and 3 offers. Two of those at hospitals. One for OR and one for acute inpatient mental health. I accepted the mental health position as it was my dream and first choice of specialty, and first choice of...

I'd write Lungs clear bilaterally all fields..

And perpetrated on boomers by other boomers looking out only for themselves.. how ironic.. The most selfish, self serving generation in the history of the world..

lol... that made me laugh.. I can see why hospitals etc don't want you to ever say that.. it could be used in court against them.. "Nurse Ratchet told me they were short staffed, now I don't have a leg anymore"..