normj

Ditto. I had only 6 months of med-surg before i went into psych, and i am regarded as the unit 'expert' on medical stuff, often fielding questions from nurses with 25+ years experience in psych who have no recent med experience. Plus, people with MA's in psychology or education are a dime a dozen in most markets (not to denigrate them, it's just reality), so they are cheap to hire ... that's why they frequently resent us nurses with much lower education (in terms of time spent in school) who make much more money. I'd do more med-surg before going to psych if i had it to do again. I catch our docs doing dumb moves (e.g. too much insulin) all the time.

yes, and if all else fails, have them arrested for indecent exposure ... i don't understand why folks are so concerned about using restraints here ... we would put them in locked seclusion immediately ...

We call it a B-52 ... 2mg lorazepam 5mg haloperidol 50mg diphenhydramine IM, all in the same syringe ... Nighty-Night!! :stone

I find that lorazepam frequently only disinhibits such patients.

The old saw "You don't HAVE to be crazy to work here, but it sure helps" definitely applies on my unit ...

personally, i think the best therapists, psychiatrists, psych nurses, psychologists, etc are folks who have been there, done that ... and are now keeping themselves well thru application of tested treatments. you certainly should not be caring for patients if your own symptoms are not under control, anymore than you would show up for work on a med surg floor with a galloping case of TB (a limited analogy, i know, but useful). you really, really need to be able to be objective however ... are you really well? how do you know? i have worked with several staff members from several disciplines on psych units who were actively ill ... and they were truly toxic people, to patients and other staff. good luck!

Clearly, asking your attorney is the right thing to do in this case; every state has different laws. Good luck.

or you could just hide a stool sample in their bookbags ... sorry, couldn't resist ...

I got into nursing to be a psych RN ... Did my 6 months in purgatory (ie, Med/Surg) ... And I've just been offered a job on a psych unit! I am going to take it ... my unit sucks, even the director quit ... our management is suffering from chronic, incurable cranio-rectal co-location ... so I am outta here, baby! :angryfire Looking forward to getting started in my specialty after 3 years of school and a hellish 6 month intro to nursing ... Norm

Of course there is always the subject of restraint use ... as a nurse, you could put a great spin on it, such as Pt rights versus RN safety ... and if you do do that, post your paper here so we can see what you have learned!

I know that at Harborview MC, in Seattle, WA, USA, there is a full-time staff of RNs and others designed to receive, triage, assess, and process involuntary and voluntarily detained psych patients in their ER ... they are a level one trauma center ... and they are generally always busy. sounds kinda like that to which you refer ...

Thanks Osorry! That is exactly the kind of thing I thought I might hear ... I know we could use that in our joint, especially since a "Psych Consult" on a med/surg floor where I am at consists of a pissy psychiatry resident coming up and "evaluating" the patient then leaving in a huff after doing nothing ... I can't wait to finish my year of med/surg so I get into psych where i belong ...

Thanks Osorry! That is exactly the kind of thing I thought I might hear ... I know we could use that in our joint, especially since a "Psych Consult" on a med/surg floor where I am at consists of a pissy psychiatry resident coming up and "evaluating" the patient then leaving in a huff after doing nothing ... I can't wait to finish my year of med/surg so I get into psych where i belong ...

Hi, Anyone care to elaborate on the role and need for psych CNS/NPs in the Acute care hospital setting? In particular, I am wondering about how often they are employed to do psych rounds on med/surg and critical care to evaluate patients and write orders/teach nurses on topics related to the care of psych patients with medical disorders (and vice versa). Anyone work with, or are you, a CNS/NP employed in this capacity? Norm - soon to be psych nuse doing my med/surg penance ...

I just started my first RN job on a med/surg floor ... and spent all of last night dealing with the typical shenanigans of a galloping borderline who has a multitude of medical issues. Orginally got into this because I want to be psych nurse ... and I am already glad I have chosen to do med/surg first. I'll probably do no more than a year because I am not happy with my current unit, then switch to psych.