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Totally within scope. In fact, I am a "crisis clinician" myself and my primary responsibility is to attend to calls in the ER or on other units (consult-liaison). I work on a team of four (2 RNs, 2 MSWs) and both disciplines do the exact same work.

I work in consult-liaison/psych emerg, but at the 22 bed child/adolescent floor I float to we are at 1:5-6 fully staffed (which is hardly ever the case). We also have 3-4 child and youth workers on the floor to assist with activities and behaviour management.

Hi! I just finished my first year of mental health nursing in nearby Hamilton! At the first facility I worked at we used the Broset Violence Checklist (BVC) to assess for potential violence. After assessing, we usually intervened with supportive statements, limit setting, non-pharmacological interventions (distraction, offering to take client to a more relaxing, low-stim environment, etc.), then pharmacological interventions (offering PRN meds). If at any point, safety to others was an imminent issue we would usually call for help (security, other staff) and use the seclusion room. I found the Broset online here: http://pshsa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/VAACEtoo_-instruction.pdf.pdf There is also a great model (ABC Model) for dealing with crises, which can result in violence if not addressed: http://pda.rnao.ca/content/abc-model-crises-intervention Remember! Almost everything in psych nursing is dependent on your therapeutic alliance! Coping is another huge concept in psych. Try to look up some DBT-informed coping skills if your clients are having a hard time. Assessment takes a lot of practice! Remember all the terms and although doing an MSE is great, try not to forget the bigger picture (why is the patient here? what is the treatment/care plan?). Some good resources I used to help with my assessment skills were: Mental Status Exam Explained by Robinson and Psychiatric Clinical Skills by Goldbloom (very practical, has a great section on admission assessments). Hope that helps! Welcome to psych nursing!

Communication techniques is key! Also, make clear your values/beliefs about mental illness now and reflect on your experiences and how it has changed later. On the more "technical" side: -Know your common illnesses and key nursing diagnoses/interventions for each (major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, etc.) -Study up your MSE, especially risk assessment -Study your psychotropic medications -Know the law! Make sure you understand some legal tidbits in regards to mental health nursing and understand your jurisdiction's Mental Health Act (or equivalent)

I am an introvert myself, and I think introverts make great psych nurses. I find that I can connect with some of my patients better because of my some-what reserved-think-before-I-speak nature (depressed, anxious clients). Although I do have a harder time with manic clients (I can't keep up, lol). Because introverts tend to think long and hard before speaking and are great listeners, they can do really well at establishing therapeutic rapport. If you think about it some of the most intimate interactions (interviews, MSEs, etc.) as a psych nurse entail 1-on-1 situations (aka. introvert friendly scenarios). I can entirely relate to being the "weirdo shy kid" too. Lol. I think it does help to reframe your client's situations and experiences. That being said, I think a good psych nurse still needs to be firm when needed especially when setting limits. Regardless of your personality type, being "genuine" and "professional" is the way to go. If you aren't the bubbly personality type, that's completely okay!