KennethAlcsRN

I am a new grad that landed a job in the Psychiatric ER. I was always interested in Psych and found that it was appropriate that I ended up where I am. We are involved in the patient's personal care as much as we would like. Most of the time the pt is able to do most of their ADLs, but in the case that they don't, we are always there to help as well as the NAs. Here's my list: Pros: Every shift is ALWAYS interesting. Because of this, I am never bored... yet. I've only been in the game for 3 months, so this can change, but I highly doubt it. Another thing that might just be in the Psych ER is we see different faces almost every shift. This again, keeps things interesting. Pros are you don't do much of the hard work that you used to do in Med Surg, but this can be a Con as well if you are into that. Cons: You kind of lose many nursing skills that you learned in school, ie IV start, NG tube, Foleys ect. But you still get to draw blood, give IMs, and SubQs. You still see the Med Surg disease processes, but not as much, this can also be a pro, however you see it. Also if you work in Pysch for a long time, your chances of getting a Med Surg or other gig goes down with the length of time you have been in it in my opinion, so if you like it and don't mind staying in it, you are good, but if you are looking to move, better do some part time work in another setting.

In the facility I currently work at, it is only considered contraband if the bra has an underwire. It always comes down to safety in these settings. A co-worked did show me way to cut and tie 2 disposable undergarments together to create a makeshift bra. It satisfied the client that was there at the time, so I thought it was an appropriate compromise. As for the client that did not have suicidal/homicidal intent, the bra can be taken from them or they can give it away, thus a safety issue.