gewmac

Congratulations on your job. I have been doing psych nursing for 8 years with 4 years previous working as a psych tech. My advice is to show your patients respect and kindness. This may be manifested in listening to their stories without judgment or a late night coffee and snack when they are agitated. They will remember these kindnesses. Many times an agitated and aggressive patient has been told by a "frequent flyer" to go light on me because "he is a nurse who cares and listens".

Lily. I have been a night shift nurse for 7 plus years. While in nursing school I worked as an aide on the overnight. My advice for sleep hygiene is as follows. 1. I try to never be awake more than 20 hours in any period. 2. The night before my shift I stay up late, usually until 1 or 2 am. I will sleep until 10 or 11 am. My shift starts at 1900 and goes to 0700. Overnight 12's. This way I won't violate rule #1. 3. After my shift I have a snack and go right to bed. Staying up can mean that I catch a "second wind" and could possibly not be able to get back to sleep. 4. While at work I keep the lights on so to fool the circadian rhythm. I also drink coffee early in the shift and PRN if I feel tired. I hope that this helps. Mac

Thanks to all who posted on my question! I will look to see if my employer will pay part of the cost. The three comments from pschrns, whispera, and meriwhen confirm that the CPI is useful. It appears that instructor certification would be useful to put on my resume. Perhaps it will help to get that first job as an RN in psych.I just took a client to our local inpatient psych facility and noticed that staff used some of the techniques of CPI. I was impressed by their professionalism, RN's and counselors.Thank you to all who answer the newbies' questions! I appreciate it.

Hey PsychcnsI appreciate the input. I will look into their course. Anyone can state anything on the net and a referral like yours gives them credibility

Hi All: Has anyone ever heard of CPI They teach numerous courses, including Non-Violent Crisis Intervention. They can be found at: http:// www.crisisprevention.com My wife states that as a teacher in a high risk urban district, she has attended similar classes and found them useful. I see that the cost of their programs are as follows: $600 1 day seminar. $900 2 day seminar. $2000 4 day seminar and become certified to instruct. The problem that I see with this is that at $80 per hour of instruction I could hire an expert for one on one training. Also, I wonder if a 4 day seminar qualifies one to teach staff. (Credibility or caveat emptor issue)? Are there other vendors or schools that teach deescalation? I recently had an agitated, borderline MR schizophrenic rush towards me in the group home in which I am a Rehabilitation Counselor. I did not perceive this act as overly threatening to me. I am 6'2" and 250 lbs. I was able to move out of the way and talk the resident (patient) down. I was very happy that I did not react in either of my 2 non-therapeutic ways; 1. Get big like a bear and growl. 2. Push him aside. I stated in a post on a similar topic that my facility's defense tactic is "run away". I am a nursing student and more than willing to read, learn, attend anything that will improve my skill set. GMAC

Hey All As a follow up to this thread topic: Is there one style of martial arts that teaches the defensive moves without the offensive counter-moves? In my area Krav Maga is the next new thing, but this is way too offensive in nature. Although I try to keep a peaceful "Zen"attitude, I do not feel comfortable going to a local self defense school asking for all of the defensive and none of the offensive training. I tend to react stimulus/response and do not want any conditioning of aggressive responses. As a side note, I am a nursing student who works as a counselor in a MH group home. Our defensive training can be summed up by "run away as fast as you can". G

Thanks M Bauer. I will look to go "go tech" about 6 months from graduation from the ADN program. My skills in de-escalation and calm communication really won't be given justice in a resume. I would be well served to work as a tech for a year or so in order to prove my abilities. I need to be as pro-active as possible in presenting myself in the most favorable way. I will be 50 by the time that I graduate. GMAC

Hey Mingez Thank you for the reply. I had some trouble logging on remotely recently. I think that given what you have said and what MBauerRN wrote recently, I will stick with my rehabilitation counselor job while in school. The hours are flexible and time off from work benefits are superb, allowing me to go to school and work in the field, albeit tangentially. Perhaps I will look for a tech job 6 months from graduation, getting me acclimated to the working of the medical psych field. GMAC

Hey In the states, Buffalo , New York, there is a program called Compeer. Here is the link Using the healing power of friendship to change lives... It involves becoming a mentor/friend to someone who has a mental health diagnosis. It is not direct care, but would allow you to cite experience with people who have a mental health diagnosis. In my area, the local organization holds social events and other get togethers. Perhaps Canada has a similar program. GMac

I am a 48 year old man who took a leave from the world of Capitalism. I am closing down my sales business after 25 years. The kids are out of the house and done with college. I took a job as a Rehabilitation Counselor at a psychiatric group home. It was this job and experiences at this facility that caused me to consider going back to school to become an RN and work in the psych field. I am currently getting A's in all prerequisite courses, building a strong scientific background. I am applying to the ADN-RN program for acceptance in the cohort starting 01/2013. From numerous posts here, I can see that the preferred option amongst members is for a student to work as a psych tech. I do have some strong contacts at a local private mental health facility that is currently hiring. My job as a rehabilitation counselor involves developing and implementing treatment plans that address the overall functioning level of our clients. We address skills of daily living, symptom management and health services to name a few. I have learned to differentiate between types of Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective D/D and others Axis I's. The one possible negative or debit with this job is that we treat clients who are close to their highest level of functioning. The pros of this current job are: 1. It is a like a well paid internship for me in the MH field. 2. Positive interaction with treatment providers. 3. Availability of allies in the form of RN- Community Health Nurses who have encouraged me and are willing to act as mentors. 4. The organization that I work for is well respected in this area and their positive reference would help secure a job. (To what degree, I can not be sure). I wonder if I should take a full time tech job about a year before I graduate as a means to be an internal applicant at our local psych hospital or stick with my current course of action. Thanks GMAC