Pros vs. Cons: Starting Career in Psych?

Specialties Psychiatric

Published

Hi All: I am a brand new RN, a career-changing male who is just entering the nursing field. I have not yet decided where my "niche" is....and would appreciate your guidance.

Have been told, PRETTY CONSISTENTLY, that as a new RN, I "SHOULD GET A YEAR OF MED-SURG FIRST", before trying a specialty like psych. I am wondering how you experienced psych nurses feel about that advice I've been given?

Also, when you reply, if you could plz share whether your first RN job was in med-surg (or another non-psych area), before you became a psych nurse.

Thanks so much, for helping out a "newbie"!!:wink2:

You're welcome, Caratzas66 - Good luck!

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My 2 cents:

I wanted to go straight into psych but was discouraged by enough employers that I went into med-surg first.

As much as I disliked med-surg I'm glad I did. I am currently working in a hospital and will be floating between the psych and med-surg units. Each position requires two totally different approaches and I continue to have a greater appreciation for both. This keeps things interesting for me as I tend to become complacent easily.

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Specializes in Med-Surg & Psych.

Wow....thanks SO MUCH for your input...and your excellent insight. Much appreciated!!

I went straight from nursing school to psych. My psych patients have an enormous amount of medical problems and it has been a big challenge for me. The medical learning curve is high because I have not done med-surg, but I am getting through it by asking a ton of questions of those who do know, learning by experience, and doing research. Also, while I have not honed certain nursing skills, I have retained most of the physiology I learned in school. I don't regret going straight into psych because i KNOW that i want to be here and I would have been miserable in med surg (miserable to the point of endangering my own mental health). If you are not extremely sure about psych, then med surg experience is probably a good idea. Going straight into psych does seem to box you into a hole in nursing and the medical learning curve is steep.

=)

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Specializes in Med-Surg & Psych.

Thanks All----appreciate your insight and thoughts on my initial question.

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I started out in Behavioral Health/Psychiatric Nursing right after graduation and I don't regret it. That is my interest and that is what I do best, I believe. I do not dislike working on the med-surg floor but it's just that I prefer to work in a Psych unit. If you truly believe that Psych is where you want to be, go for what your heart desires. There are days wherein our unit is tough and extremely busy too, but Psych is still my first choice. I just couldn't imagine working in a certain unit that is not really my selection. Nursing is a tough profession to start with. I don't like to be miserable working in a certain floor just because someone told me to do so. I believe that you have to like something (even just a tiny bit) to be good at it. Good luck!

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Specializes in Med-Surg & Psych.

Hi Caringnurse,

Thank you for your input. It helps to hear all the varied thoughts on this. Appreciate your time!!:yeah:

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You are welcome! :)

Hi Caringnurse,

Thank you for your input. It helps to hear all the varied thoughts on this. Appreciate your time!!:yeah:

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I went straight to psych but did 10 weeks of med-surg nursing as part of new-grad orientation, and I'm just past the one-year mark now. While I appreciated the skills then, my IV-starting (which were decent at the end of my med-surg part) are pretty bad now, just to give an example. Like anything, you get a lot of chances to practice it you'll do better, if you don't have an IV start on your floor more than once every three months you're not going to be the best! In contrast to a few of the voices here, while I disliked med-surg in nursing school, when I was a new-grad I loved it, and I'm not ruling out working there again. I don't think one year of med-surg is going to give you perfection in every skill or knowledge of every situation for the rest of your nursing career, especially if that nursing career is going to be 40 years long.

Plus I feel very supported in my hospital that if I wanted to change specialty that orientation lasts as long as I need it to - might not be the same for every hospital.

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Specializes in Inpatient Psych, Eating Disorders, Tele.

hi, this is a great thread.

i am in a similar situation. i am a new grad bsn (2nd career) that just moved to So Cal from DC. i am having a really hard time finding a job, and after talking to several people here, i am realizing that there really isnt a nursing shortage in CA. there are so many schools here putting out asns every 3 months. i recently got a job offer in a hospital psych unit and although i really enjoyed psych in nursing school i am wondering if by accepting this job i am closing the door to the more "technical" side of nursing, particularly in this competitive area.

has any of you who started in pscyh ever went back to medical?? or have moonlighted a shift or 2 a month in med surg??? i would like to take this job and somehow keep my technical skills. i would appreciate any ideas.

thanks! :no:

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Specializes in med/surg and progressive care.

I just want to let you know as both a RN and a psych patient that I think psych nurses should have med/surg experience even if it's only a year. I had the experience when I was hospitalized for a major depression episode that I was taken off of 60 mg of Paxil and 300mg of Wellbutrin at the same time, cold turkey by the physician and so I was given 2mg of ativan every 4 hours. This made my blood pressure drop dramatically. The 3rd day my blood presure by the tech was supposedly 55/25 and a heart rate of 38. I was asymptomatic so I seriously doubt it was that low. However, the RN still brought me my Toprol XL at 0900!!!! I refused to take it and she asked why. When I told her the reading the tech got for my vitals. She said "oh" and did not recheck my vitals, did not do anything at all other than to not give me the toprol!!!! Had I not known my meds or even worse had I been suicidal and agreed to take the medication for that reason, her lack of knowledge would have been bad. Just a warning......

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Specializes in psych, addictions, hospice, education.

I think if you have a love for any particular type of nursing you should do that type. You can always do med/surg later if you decide you want to do it.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
The 3rd day my blood presure by the tech was supposedly 55/25 and a heart rate of 38. I was asymptomatic so I seriously doubt it was that low. However, the RN still brought me my Toprol XL at 0900!!!! I refused to take it and she asked why. When I told her the reading the tech got for my vitals. She said "oh" and did not recheck my vitals, did not do anything at all other than to not give me the toprol!!!! Had I not known my meds or even worse had I been suicidal and agreed to take the medication for that reason, her lack of knowledge would have been bad. Just a warning......

Not trying to downplay this incident because thank goodness you had the insight to refuse the medication but I don't really see how med-surg experience would have made a huge difference here. Are you even sure she didn't have any? First year nursing students would/should know how to handle this situation and I'm surprised there wasn't some sort of protocol in place. We almost always do our own vitals and there are clear parameters of when to withhold the meds and when to notify the physician.

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