EatYourVeggies

I think it all depends on the type of setting that you work in. When I worked on a Geriatric unit a lot of the patients required assistance bathing or were too much of a risk to be left alone in the bathroom. I always asked each patient if they would like a bath/shower and I would try really hard between me and the CNA as well as other staff to ensure everyone got a bath. I would schedule the bathing in between other nursing tasks when I was caught up, but obviously if you have a lot of nursing only tasks that need to be done it should be delegated to the support staff. See if your unit has some kind of protocol regarding this issue. I personally made sure my patients were clean (if they wanted to be) and had clean sheets every shift I've worked. I do realize that it may not be feasible in every setting unfortunately.

My sister is an RN that has worked in Corrections for the last decade and she is currently very pregnant and has no qualms about it. Being a nurse in any type of setting comes with a risk in my opinion, yet many are able to get through it. CONGRATS on your new job you might actually like it ; )

I would suggest behavioral health. I've worked in psych for 5 years and don't find it too physically demanding. It is busy but I still have time to take a break usually. At my hospital we use a lot of nursing skills on psych, but it does depend on the facility this population does tend to have many comorbidities so there are lots of opportunities for learning and teaching. I would say it is a very interesting area to work in as long as you remain open-minded. I work with many nurses who are in their 60s and even 70s! Feel free to ask questions.

I just got offered a nurse manager position at the hospital I work at. With all the added responsibility I figure I will have a decent increase in pay. Anyways the salary can be negotiated and my question is what is reasonable pay for me to ask for? I make about $67,000 as a staff RN now. I would appreciate any input! Thanks!

What state do you live in?

It seems that psych jobs are a plenty ; )

I work in inpatient psychiatry and we have a medical doctor see the patients in addition to psychiatrist for a "history and physical" just to make sure there aren't any outstanding medical problems and because some of the psychiatrist don't feel comfortable ordering medications like insulin, etc. I could see an outpatient mental health clinic wanting an FNP for something like that basically for the reasons above and to bill insurance companies for more tests.

Sounds interesting! I work in inpatient psychiatry. Can you elaborate on what you do throughout your shift?

Thank you so much for sharing this website! It is so sad that they continue to make a huge profit off of mentally ill individuals who need help. It is sickening that our tax dollars are being used in medicaid fraud.

Is anyone willing to post examples of their resumes? I am working on revamping my resume since I saw a job I am very interested in and I am needing ideas as the what to fit on one darn page! Has anyone included CEUs they have completed specifically in psychiatric nursing on their resume?

Sounds pretty similar to my experience. I got hired straight out of school as a registry rn and given a week of orientation. I would float throughout all the units; adolescent girls, adolescent boys, young adults, autistic/mr unit, and peds. Some days I would work as an RN some days I would work as a tech. Sometimes I was the only nurse on the unit and if our census was high there would be two nurses. I think the ratio was 24 patients to 1 nurse or something ridiculous like that. It was all paper charting too it was awful.

I applied this year and have not heard anything. From reading previous years posts it appears it is a pretty long process. It looks like some people have heard back as early as July but many not until October. I am getting impatient because I have been at my current workplace for a year and I only plan on continuing to work there if I get the loan repayment otherwise I would like to find something much better. The Hospital I work at is a critical shortage facility with a rating of 17. I have about 23,000 to pay back in student loans and my base salary is about 45,000 so I'm not sure how much of a chance I have in receiving the award but I figured I would give it a shot.

Yes it is all about the $$$ in my opinion.

Nursing jobs come in waves but it seems the area I work in there are a lot of nursing positions open. My own unit can't seem to find enough nurses to work there.

Maybe it is just me but I strongly feel one needs to be an RN working in Psychiatry before one becomes a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. Experience in the field is really necessary because school really does not teach you everything and I do feel bad for patients as there are not enough psychiatric providers and too many incompetent ones. There also needs to be more competent psych nursing instructors, not anyone can teach psych nursing there are too many individuals who oversimplify mental health and are ignorant on the subject.