Popwhizbangz LPN

Suicide Assessment Suicide assessment is one of the most important and challenging aspects of working in mental health. The combination of uncertainty and liability can be intimidating. For your own protection and peace of mind, assess and documen...

I'm do pleased - glad to help! -Pop

Myself, I use no materials, found they got in the way. I just get folks talking, and draw valid teaching points (I usually do Medication Ed groups) from what they say, encourage them to think of themselves as important decision-makers on their own t...

Sounds interesting - we need ways to draw folks out, especially those trying to describe interior experiences that even the most talented writers struggle to portray, and even more so for folks who have limited ability and/or willingness to discuss i...

Of course, there are no guarantees......

I've done Medication Ed groups for about five years - I mostly do it without any materials, just question and answer and discussion (Improv, lots of fun), but i do have some materials I worked up along the way - they're all Psych related, and helped ...

Fear's normal and at times an excellent red flag to take seriously. At other times, a red-herring, often hard to to tell. Also normal: ambiguity, self-doubt, frustration, anger, intimidation, etc. The big deal is what you do with these feelings we...

Its uncommon in general, I'm told, but where I work we have a PNG (Persona Non Grata - Latin for "not welcome back" basically). Doctor files it with Admissions Dep., describes reasoning for it, and it usually sticks, with a variable duration set by...

Indentured servants, if i remember correctly, were basically slaves for a set period of time, in order to pay for some product or service. I have ancestors who were indentured servants in Georgia, it paid for the ride over.

'Should's are important and valuable. But they don't make it so. Only we, together and individually can make it so. Without adequate persistent effort, there would still be slavery in the U.S. Women wouldn't have the right to vote. We'd all still b...

First point: the easiest, most efficient way to succeed in admin is take care of admin - customers come next, then line staff (essentially cogs in the big machine). That's typical throughout health care and everywhere else, sad but true. We need t...

Also keep in mind, generally, that psych units are money losers, given funding cuts not seen anywhere else in inpatient healthcare over the last 20 years. Many units have closed, others on the brink. Thus very tight budgeting, staffing cut to the b...

Feel your pain, but don't let the downers get to you - there isn't really any monolithic nursing, or medicine, or law, etc. - there's good days and bad days, and individuals with varying levels of skill, motivation, professionalism, outside stressors...

Good for you! Sounds like you're off to a fantastic start, and your motivation/heart/ethics are there. Keep it up! Need anything, please let me know. It's pretty easy to do weak psych, not so easy at all to do it well - your post is encouraging -...

Of course, I'm not saying anything global about any age group, just have seen individuals here and there over a ten year span, not the norm, thank God, not common, but a real problem. If you haven't met them, feel fortunate. I've worked over the y...

There have been a few times when I feel unable to guarantee safety with new admission(s) forced on me, or with a refused staffing request, and I have made it quite clear 1) that I can't ensure unit safety under those demands, 2) that others have conc...

Psych is the bomb! Forget the old (and young) cranks - nowhere's perfect, esp in a field where the primary way to earn more is... to age. Doing a good job offers its own rewards, but not necessarily financially, at least in the short run.

There's few things in Psych I can think of than people aging into it late in their career looking, basically, for a vulnerable population they can push around, neglect, despise, while they ease themselves into a later retirement. More - much more- ...

What's your question?

There are always meetings, always with demands, and always JCAHO. Over time you figure out how to deal with these things, with the least fuss. Me, I'll sign as always until I get busted (actually my sig used to be much clearer, then one day I mov...

Oh , and "Team Player" is one of the most mis-used and abused phrases in modern life - often enough means "Give me what I want, take care of my need before yours, or else" That, by no means, is any kind of teamwork - nor is saving your employer mone...

I agree with all above - Def. don't answer the phone if it gets to be a problem. These days I get ALL my shifts by request - phone calls, e-mails, or in person. I provide detailed, very clear Availability information - don't say why I 'm not ava...

Personally, I can do compassion. Respect. Professionalism. No problem. But burns? No way - kudos to those that can, and do it so well. That's one thing I love about nursing - there are just so many niches and so much diversity. That brings to m...

"Regulator" - Don't get me started....

"Managed care" - euphemism for a government-approved, massive conflict of interest. Imagine you pay your auto insurance for years, car gets totaled, no fault of your own, insurance company agrees, BUT they deny coverage - "In our determination you do...