I'm in my RN year of school, and will be taking a Psych class, with several clinicals at a locked unit in a state hospital. Our class will be doing clinicals at the highest level security floor in the building. I will admit that I am somewhat intimidated.
What do psych clinicals entail? I'm sure medication administration is a biggie, but what else? I've heard that full physical assessments aren't done often.
What exactly is the nurses role on the psych floor while working with registered sex offenders, schizophrenics, etc?
Any advice for those of us who may have several years experience working with the mentally ill when it comes to a psych rotation?
I've done so much crisis intervention while dealing with children and adolescents who have serious issues that I'm afraid I might just jump in and start intervening when I should be backing away and acting like I don't know what to do. I've worked in residential facilities where I gave out meds. I don't want to come across as a know it all. Should I just stay in the background and let those with less experience with that population get more in the mix of things?
The whole point of this rotation is to practice therapeutic communication. As long as you're not trying to usurp a therapist's role, jump right on in. There were so many patients on our unit that there were more than enough for one-on-one discussions with several different patients each day.
SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP
3,152 Posts
The whole point of this rotation is to practice therapeutic communication. As long as you're not trying to usurp a therapist's role, jump right on in. There were so many patients on our unit that there were more than enough for one-on-one discussions with several different patients each day.