GenDaRN

Thanks Retired APRN, I feel a lot better! I will definitely be sure to speak to my DON next week regarding any questions or concerns I have. I can't wait to begin my new adventure. I will keep you all posted.

Thanks for your responses. I plan to stay in psych nursing as it is what I enjoy. It's what I plan to specialize in. My only concern is making sure I keep my skills up enough to care for any patient I may be presented with. I just hope maybe there will be an experienced nurse at my facility willing to teach me some of the things I did not learn in school, such as IV starts and blood draws, so that I will be prepared for any medical emergency that may arise. Any suggestions on nurses notes?

Hello, I am a new grad, just graduated in May and passed NCLEX in June. I am relocating from California to North Dakota for a job at a psychiatric hospital. I have a couple of questions regarding psych nursing. First... I decided to become a nurse while working as an aide at a psychiatric facility and I always knew that pysch nursing was what I wanted to do. However, my instructors told me in school that I shouldn't make psych my first job because I will lose my skills. They said I should get a med surge job first. However that is not what I wanted to do. I love psych and it is what I want to specialize in. The problem is that we did not learn to start IV's in school and I am afraid if we get a patient on the unit who needs an IV that I will look stupid and not be able to start it. I am pretty ok with most of my skills, but I worry that I am not IV ready at all. Any thoughts on this? Second... I did my transition to practice in an acute psych facility and I learned there that writing psych nurses notes is my weakness. I am ok with assessments, patient/staff interactions, meds, etc. But when it comes to writing notes, I never seem to know what to write. I always miss important stuff. Any advice on practicing writing notes would be very helpful.

Thanks for all the replies. I'm glad to know that I will not be the only RN in whatever program I choose to attend.

I am a new grad from NJ. I just relocated to California and am looking to land my first job. In NJ where I attended school we do not learn to start IV's or perform blood draws as RN's are usually trained to do so in their first job. However, several of the job listings I have seen state IV certification required. I currently live in the Inland Empire (Lake Elsinore) but travel to Orange County everyday to take my daughter to college. All the courses I see for IV certification/Blood draw state that they are for LVN/LPN. Can anyone tell me where I can find a certification course in either the Inland Empire or Orange County? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.