Psych Interview on Tuesday

Jules A, MSN · Aug 2, 2008

I truly believe that nursing is not something you can just "grit your teeth and muscle through" which is one of the reasons I went right into psych. I totally agree that, if you can do it, a year of med surge is helpful no matter which speciality you end up working in but if you can't, you can't and I just couldn't. Good luck!

aloevera · Aug 2, 2008

don't be concerned about the "1 yr. in med-surg", especially if you are going in to a detox unit....you will get excellent "on the job training";

need to knows: what to do for seizures, increased B/P, diabetic s/s, familiarize yourself with Bi-Polar disorders, Borderline Personalities, (you see a lot of those on detox unitx), Schizophrenia, psych meds, etc.

Usually get a good 6-12 weeks of orientation on the unit...

Good Luck and Happy Nursing...........

medsurgrnco, BSN, RN · Aug 2, 2008

Yeah, that's what med/surg is like and how I felt as well for the years I worked in med/surg - except my coworkers rarely offered to help me out even if they had time. I kept thinking it was more due to the hospital/unit that I was on, but each job was the same - actually, worse, as TPTB added more work over the years with the hourly rounding, computer documentation, walking rounds, etc, etc, etc. I enjoy my work and my coworkers now, and the hardest shifts on psych are still better than 99% of the med/surg shifts I worked. I also like my coworkers much better now, as IMO people drawn to work in psych are often much more interesting (or unusual - I mean that positively - and include myself in this) than people who work in other medical fields.

Let us know if you have any questions regarding the interview. They will probably want to know why you want to switch to psych and how you would handle difficult patients. Try not to say much about your dislike of med/surg, focus instead on your desire to work in psych.

You have 6 months of med/surg experience which will definitely benefit you in a psych position. So go for it!

Ultra Violet · Aug 5, 2008

Thanks very much for your replies. My interview is today at 1 pm. I'll let you know how it goes. :eek:

texasbsn · Aug 5, 2008

I hope the interview went well.I am a very recent grad and got hired yesterday to a med/surg unit.I was also advised to do 1 year med surg,even though my real love is Psych,I wanted to forgo the advise but could not find any openings for psych.I live in Corpus Christi. I am not sad that I got hired to med/surg as I do belive that it will greatly benifit my patient care skills in future.After a year I will look for psyh openings again,anyway GOODLUCk!

aloevera · Aug 6, 2008

how did it go??? we are anxious to hear....

Ultra Violet · Aug 8, 2008

It's been a busy week. I don't know how to explain it other than I just didn't have a good "gut feeling" for this facility, which was really disappointing to me. I don't want to jump from my current position to something worse. The nurse manager took me about 25 minutes later than my appointment because they had me filling out pages and pages of applications -- info that was already on my resume. That didn't matter so much to me, but it put her off schedule, and then I felt rushed toward the end of the interview and didn't get to tour the facility. Anyway, I would take a pay cut of about $5/hr. It's located in Boston so the drive is at least 30 minutes for me without traffic. There is no flexibility at all in terms of choosing which days per week to work and no 12-hr shifts available. That's fine except the way the woman answered me gave me the feeling she is completely inflexible. (Due to the pay cut, I plan to keep my part-time job which I like alot.) Then she proceeded to tell me that because they are a private facility they take on anyone, some of the most dangerous/ assaultive people -- ok fine, it's a psych unit. They are in the process of hiring a nurse educator, but that would not be in place for me. She said you don't get a preceptor like in med-surge, but they bring on an extra nurse for I believe 3-4 weeks. Then at the end she asked if I had school loans to which I replied I did, and she said she could work on either a sign on bonus or loan forgiveness involving a contract. I'm sitting with this a few days. I'm not jumping into anything. On the up side, I have two more interviews set up -- one for next Wednesday and one the following week. I'm just hoping I find my "niche." I've been so up and down lately. I've never been good at waiting things out being an addict in recovery myself. I know there is going to be something for me that I love. I just know it. Right??? ha ha ha

aloevera · Aug 8, 2008

well the sign on bonus is a big plus:redbeathe:redbeathe

but yes, sometimes you do have to go with your instinct...the fact that she did not give you a tour of the facility is a major downer to me.... :down: I would definately want to see the units before I said yes to any position...and see the cleanliness, etc. of the hospital....

Good Luck with your future interviews....

RN007 · Aug 8, 2008

I had a seasoned nurse tell me once, "Listen to your gut -- It's God speaking to you."

Whether you believe in divine intervention or not, there's a lot to be said for having good feelings about a place. While loan forgiveness is nice, so is some scheduling flexibility. I keep my 'real' job in occupational health because I work with great people who are always willing to switch around to accommodate my busy life.

I work prn for the psych unit of our hospital to maintain that flexibility. I love mental health nursing and will have an opportunity to work there full time but I just can't sacrifice my kids' weekends and holidays. (I personally wouldn't mind those days, but my kiddos still believe Santa comes down the chimney.)

You'll know what feels right. Good luck with the other two interviews and keep us posted!

medsurgrnco, BSN, RN · Aug 9, 2008

Sounds like not knowing ahead that you needed to fill out so much paperwork threw the schedule off. I suggest you ask for a tour of the facility before making your decision, if you are still open to this position. The pay cut might be made up by the sign-on bonus or the loan forgiveness program. Are the other interviews for other psych positions? Anyway, good luck in your job search!

Ultra Violet · Aug 14, 2008

I had two more interviews -- one yesterday in a detox facility and one today that has a locked psych and locked substance abuse floor. Yesterday at the detox as I was in the waiting area, all hell was breaking loose at the facility. They had to call an ambulance, the police, etc. for an out of control patient. I could see the difference from where I work now on a floor in a hospital that gets a lot of medical detoxes/psych patients vs. this detox. Where I work, we woud call a "Team One" and subdue the patient. I think the hospital has more resources. Anyway, the nurse manager was great. There is definately an approximate $4/hr pay cut from med surge, but there would be much more flexibility in scheduling.

Then today's interview was with a recruiter first at the locked facility. It went very well. I will be meeting with the NM next week. I actually did a clinical rotation at this facility during school. I think the pay is a bit higher here, and it seems there is more flexibility in scheduling at this facility as well.

Someone asked about the interview questions. Today was the first interview that I actually was asked some of those corny questions like: Why nursing? What is making me look at psych nursing? If she spoke to people that I had worked with in the past, what do I think they would say about me? if I had any biases/prejudices -- I forget how she worded that ? There were others. I found just speaking from the heart/telling the truth worked best for me today.