psych help!!!

AOX4RN, MSN, RN, NP · Apr 14, 2011

Fake it 'til you make it. Do anything but present your vibe as terrified. The personality types that thrive on manipulation will make a beeline for you. Act confident, communicate with the staff about who to stay away from (like who is a DTO or DTS on your shift), and *enjoy* the patients. Most of them want to talk to someone new. Just don't get sucked into or feed delusions or hallucinations. The rotation is what you make of it. I had no use for it either, but ended up loving it. It is one area I will consider employment and post-RN education now.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Apr 14, 2011

I am in my psych rotation now and we are doing part of our clinical (6 weeks) at a state hospital. I am terrified of psych nad really dont want anything to do with it. Im so nervous while Im there that I dont know taht I can be effective for my patients. Any advice?

I wouldn't advise faking it, I would suggest letting down your fears and trying to learn something from it. Majority of your patients in the hospital are going to be going through Psych stuff. It's a time of high stress/anxiety, usually these people aren't well and there is a lot of Psych Social stuff that you will need to handle effectively. It's a huge part of nursing and majority of the people with psych issues are not in a mental hospital. In fact, the hospital is a holding ground for a lot of people that probably should be in a mental hospital.

ImThatGuy, BSN, RN · Apr 14, 2011

What about it is causing you alarm?

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Apr 14, 2011

Are you afraid you will be hurt physically or afraid your ego will be fractured by not knowing how to handle situations? I can tell you the second was my reason for hating the psych rotation till I realized I was being my own worst enemy. I also learned that most psych patients are "normal" in other areas and easier to talk to than you think. AND they are on meds, which is more than you can say about the ones you meet in the outside world. Talk to your instructor about how to exhibit more confidence.

tkm2005 · Apr 15, 2011

I, like you, was terrified of psych. Next week is my last week of clinical and I'm beyond sad that it is over. The psych patients are people too, a little different, but they all have hearts and feelings. They helped make me a better nurse, don't be afraid, embrace it. Dont' be scared of them, they can sense it. Go in with confidence, you'll be fine. And, hopefully, like me, you'll end up loving it!!

tkm2005 · Apr 15, 2011

P.S.

Remember, not all "psych" patients are housed on the "psych floor". Psychotic patients with other medical conditions are all over the hospital. You've dealt with some before, I'm sure, you just didn't realize it! :) Good luck!!

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Apr 15, 2011

P.S.
Remember, not all "psych" patients are housed on the "psych floor". Psychotic patients with other medical conditions are all over the hospital. You've dealt with some before, I'm sure, you just didn't realize it! :) Good luck!!

Absolutely, in fact, I have seen more pysch issues in the hospital then I did in my psych clinical.

ddunnrn · Apr 15, 2011

I' ve been a psych nurse for 25 years, and have always loved it. the one bit of advice I can give you is just to be yourself. Even more important than drugs, and talkie-talk therapy is something called milieu therapy--meaning that the patient benefits most from a "normal" environment, interacting with "normal" people. That's why you should shoot the breeze with patients (all the while being as therapeutic as possible), wear street clothes that are not too flashy, and generally try to relate to your clients as much as possible.

You will learn how to deal with manipulative patients, and you will also learn the limits of what you can and can't hope to accomplish in the short time you have with all of your patients. You might even feel a sense of fulfillment in helping someone, or disappointment in not being able to do everything the client needs.

Good luck to you and I hope you learn to love psych as much as I did over the years. The one thing I think always attracted me to nursing, and psych in particular, is that you use your entire life's learning and history in it--if you know the arts, or fashion, or music, or sports, etc., you can use it in relating to your clients.

LiveZen · Apr 17, 2011

I was scared when I started my psych clinical, too. I'm a pretty small woman, and after the safety lectures our school gave pre-clinicals that quarter I had convinced myself that I was going to end up getting beat up by a patient.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

Psych has a lot more "sad" than "scary" in it. These people are at crises in their lives, and many of them are just dying for someone to sit down and listen to them. I learned a lot from the experience...saw people from all walks of life (including a few near my own age...wow!) and just listed to their stories.

You definitely need to be aware of safety issues, but there are precautions in place to help ease the fears- most units have "panic buttons" or something similar you wear, and the units/rooms are often video monitored.

Take this experience for what it is...a chance to learn some communication skills that you can carry with your for the rest of your professional (and personal) life. Best wishes! :up:

HCollier · Apr 17, 2011

Our rotation is at a mental hospital.

I am afraid of getting hurt. ALOT of these pts are there bc they cannot function in prison. The first thing we were told was about a nurse getting her cheek bone fractured by a resident last week. I am terrified of this. I am 115 lb and my "parter/buddy" is about the same. We would have NO hope of gaining control over a pt who is haveing a psychotic break(which apparently happens often as they are of course not forced to take their meds and thus their conditions are not controlled) The whole time I am there all I am focused on is how to keep myself nad my partner safe and not so much on the pts care or being an effective nurse. I just am not really sure what to do. I am really overwhelmed. My instructor basically says we need to get over it(Im not the only one to feel this way).

metal_m0nk, BSN, RN · Apr 18, 2011

My best advice?

Relax.

My experience with people with psychiatric disorders is that they tend to be almost alarmingly astute. Your lack of confidence and defensiveness will not go unnoticed. Dig deep and try to resolve any fears or misconceptions that you have about the mentally ill and try to go in with the understanding that they are just people, not super people.

Best of luck!