Abug

Go for the psych job. If you love psych you'll keep going back to it like an itch you cain't scratch.

OK, great info. Has anyone but me seen Geodon used in emergent situations? It can be helpful but must be given with food. That can be tricky with a paranoid person. But if the person's willing to take a po it seems to be quite effective and sure doesn't have the SEs of vitamin H.

Heart of Glass, get out of there. That is some scary staffing. I work 3rd shift at the state hospital. The staffing level here is better than a lot of the levels mentioned in other posts. Still, we have very acute patients that wouldn't be kept for long in private facilities. We have a very large forensics population as well as civic pts, geriatrics and adolescents. I happen to work in a dual dx unit; substance abuse/MI. We have 20 pts with 1 RN & 1 LPT on at night. We frequently get pulled to other units to cover. Some of the other units are really understaffed in my opinion. You worked hard for that license. Don't lose it to admin's bottom line. If something goes bad on your shift, they won't hesitate to hang you out to dry. Their main goal is to look good and make the big bucks; this is diametrically opposed to what our goal as RNs is. Be careful and be safe.

Oh, zookeeper...I couldn't agree more. The worst day in psych is better than most anything else in nursing. As for me, I knew the first day of my psych rotation that it was for me. After 45 yrs I'm still working in psych. It's never dull or boring. It's the kind of job that is engaging, challenging, and fosters a degree of teamwork I rarely experienced except in the ED. Sure it's not for everyone, but if it's for you, nothing else will ever do.

Ha! Bet you won't believe this but I worked on 2south from 7/68 to 1/69. My mom started working on 2west when the place opened in 1959. Obviously I can be of no help, but it was a great first job. Still psych nursing at the state hospital in Pueblo, CO.