Psych nursing is easy

Ddestiny, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2014

A lot of people look down on psych nurses because they don't frequently use the same skills as, say, an ICU or med surg nurse. By saying that psych nursing is easy, you are inviting this outlook to continue.

No area of nursing is easy. There are different skills involved in all areas of care. If your nursing job is easy, maybe it's time to look around and see what more can be done. Are you really helping your patients recover or are you just "babysitting" them?

DoeRN · Mar 30, 2014

Give it some time and you may change your mind. I'm a float nurse and float to psych on a regular basis and trust me it isn't as easy as you think it is. Yes, I get my breaks and all of that but things can escalate pretty fast if your not prepared for it.

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Sissybee1 · Mar 31, 2014

I work psych. I work adolescent, child, geriatric, and adult. If you call easy being spit on, spit blood on, punched, kicked, cursed at, and verbally abused easy then yes its a cake walk. It takes a strong mind and an unbelievable amount of self control to see the patients as ill when they are in extreme crisis. The ability to sit calmly while a child repeats grotesque accounts of horrendous sexual abuse by trusted members of their environment, to recognize withdrawal and still deal with medical issues like htn, dm, copd, etc., and to be excellent at wound care are just a few gems we carry arounds. You have to have honed assessment skills to recognize when someone has true syncope or is acting out, to treat each complaint with validity and be able to differentiate those which are symptomatic to a disorder. You have to deal with team nursing and be able to navigate staff issues and personalities and their interactions with patients as well, all while passing meds, assessing, doing admissions, and making sure no one attacks each other or self injures with much larger pt to nurse ratios. It is true nursing and not for the faint of heart. No nursing job is easy, not a single one and if you're in the market for easy this just might not work out.

WillyNilly · Mar 31, 2014

Yes, I believe your perception is wrong. It may seem nice to take a break and talk to a patient but as someone else posted being assaulted is not "easy" as you put it. There are still medical issues that need addressed.

Davey Do · Mar 31, 2014

If I were to Title a few of the Stories in the Years that I've been a Psych Nurse, they would be called, off the Top of my Head, "Juliet Jumps Out of the Third Story Window", "Being Literally Stabbed in the Back By an Undiferentiated Schizophrenic", "Cutting Down On a Sucessful Suicide", "Head Lacerations Sutured by Flashlight", "Patient Mutiny on the Acute-Admission Unit Bounty", and a Dr. Suess Story: "Psych Patient, Blue Patient".

elkpark · Mar 31, 2014

If it seems easy, you're not doing it right. :)

MrChicagoRN, RN · Mar 31, 2014

If it seems easy, you're not doing it right. :)

You took the words right out of my mouth. :)

Assessing for escalation, increased SI, HI

Setting limits. Deescalating volitle situations.

Making sure the MHC is observed, and all paperwork is in alignment with the law.

Maintaining pt and staff safety.

Recognizing potential or actual side effects.

Medication education, recognizing the correct PRN indicated.

Identifying and implementing the least restrictive intervention necessary.

Supervising unlicensed personnel.

PsychNP-BC · Apr 1, 2014

Dr. Suess Story: "Psych Patient, Blue Patient".

I might get this embroidered on all my scrubs!! lol

elkpark · Apr 1, 2014

You took the words right out of my mouth. :)
Assessing for escalation, increased SI, HI
Setting limits. Deescalating volitle situations.
Making sure the MHC is observed, and all paperwork is in alignment with the law.
Maintaining pt and staff safety.
Recognizing potential or actual side effects.
Medication education, recognizing the correct PRN indicated.
Identifying and implementing the least restrictive intervention necessary.
Supervising unlicensed personnel.

I've had the same experience every time I've taught a psych clinical rotation -- the students all start out thinking this is going to be easy, a nice break from all their "hard" clinicals, they've heard they're just going to sit around and talk with people (how hard can that be?), and, inevitably, later in the rotation, one or more of them says to me, "Gee, Ms. ----, I thought this clinical was going to be easy, but psych nursing is really hard! You have to think hard all the time!!"

Michael_Espelin, MSN, APRN · Apr 2, 2014

Especially since psych nursing is all about anticipating what is going to happen or how the patient is going behave. You have to be able to pick up subtle cues and recognize what they mean and how to prevent something bad happening. Yeah the med passes and patient load may be less at times, but you need to be fully focused on the patients--as in never turn your back on them.

If it seems easy, you're not doing it right. :)

Couldn't agree more.

psychRNflorida · Apr 2, 2014

It's not easy... I agree with all the above posts. Take a medically complex pt with psych issues... You're dealing with medical AND psych. Safety. Rounds q15min. No techs. 10 patients per nurse. Codes. Seclusion. Restraints. Baker Act (depending on state). Guardian Advocates. Court. Paperwork. Paperwork. Paperwork. Staff splitting. Substance abuse. Withdrawal. Deescalating. Admissions. Discharges. Working with a team of social workers, therapists, doctors for one goal. Personality disorders. Frequent flyers. PRNs. PRNs. PRNs. Paperwork. Paperwork. Paperwork. And this is the tip of the iceberg...