Psych nursing is easy

LauraNArizona · Jul 12, 2014

I would love to know where you work, because I want to apply.

I have worked in a Psychiatric Hospital for the last 3 1/2 years and it has not been easy. Yes I have received abuse from patients, but that is not the problem. We are just understaffed and the patients are sicker and sicker. We get patients actively detoxing from alcohol, heroin, and every from of substance abuse. We take patients after severe overdoses. I see patients having DT's. And we are monitoring patients who are actively suicidal, cutting themselves, having seizures, or just having sex with a stranger in a bathroom. Plus the manic patients, the borderline patients, the schizoaffective patient, and every other psychiatric diagnosis.

I say just enjoy having it easy. However you need to realize not every "Psych Nursing" job is that lucky.

wingding · Jul 13, 2014

AMEN sister - sounds like my unit!!! You are right, the ERs are bypassing Medsurge (self pay?) when they're sick & sending them onto Psych. How many times am I looking at intake information thinking -"this guy needs a cardiologist & some O2 now - not psych!" I cringe every time we take pt. that reports "want drug/alcohol detox". Doesn't matter that we are not detox unit - they say they have SI or affidavits regarding harm to self - we take them. We need bowls of Ativan at the nurse station just to handle the load of withdrawls (for pts., nurses just deal).

psychnurse2016 · Jul 14, 2014

I can only say this "SUN DOWNING" If having 10 patients all begin to exhibt sun downing behavior in unison as easy...whats your secret...lol! Day one on my old unit I was strangled by an elderly woman with my lanyard that was around my neck...because no one told me to take it off before I got off the elevator. lol!

SoundRN7 · Jul 16, 2014

During my first week working in psych I thought the same thing, "this is easy." That happened to be a holiday week with few patients and very low acuity. Almost two years later I'm still working psych/AOD crisis and "easy" is not a word I would use for the work I do. That's not to say that you won't have days that seem slow and easy, but that is not the norm.

Mish56, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2014

Wait?? I'm supposed to get a break???

fiba · Jul 21, 2014

OMG after reading this thread, my idea of psych nursing

is not as rosy as I thought.

wingding · Jul 22, 2014

Fiba --- No field of nursing is Rosy!!! All forms of nursing is demanding, grueling & difficult -- None of it is easy, it is only what field of nursing that suits you that makes it worth it all. Lives are in your hands, regardless of your type of nursing & with that comes the responsibility of your patient. Whether you're a clinic nurse, psych, wound care, hospice, med surge, ect. you may be treating a specific problem, but the whole patient is under your eye, your care. Your observation of the whole patient may be all that stands between their life or their death & pray you are quick enough to say something when you see something not quite right. Many a patient saved because the nurse mentioned her concerns to the doctor.

KansasKim · Jul 24, 2014

I want your job if it is that easy! I work at a State Hospital where the hours are long...really loooong. The hospital I'm out is "out in the boonies" and hard to recruit, so we are very under staffed. We take care of people that "normal" hospitals won't touch, most are more aggressive than you would find at an normal hospital. You have to be on your toes and know your psychology. Another misconception people have with psych nursing is that is it "just psych". You have to come with your A-game for medical issues as well; people don't come in with just psych related issues, they have diabetes, HTN, etc. A fight between peers or an overly aggressive patient can mean you need to know how to assess for injuries. I was taught to do my assessments like they do for TNCC. And, since I do work for the government, you have to learn to make do with your resources which requires some creative thinking. So, where ever you are, I ask you if they are hiring? I would love to be able to sit and eat/talk with my patients. Here, it just isn't going to happen.

fiba · Jul 24, 2014

Fiba --- No field of nursing is Rosy!!! All forms of nursing is demanding, grueling & difficult -- None of it is easy, it is only what field of nursing that suits you that makes it worth it all. Lives are in your hands, regardless of your type of nursing & with that comes the responsibility of your patient. Whether you're a clinic nurse, psych, wound care, hospice, med surge, ect. you may be treating a specific problem, but the whole patient is under your eye, your care. Your observation of the whole patient may be all that stands between their life or their death & pray you are quick enough to say something when you see something not quite right. Many a patient saved because the nurse mentioned her concerns to the doctor.

I hear ya, and I am aware. What I was not aware of is the level of violence in psychiatric nursing.

Some of the stuff I read here was quite eye opening.

CateB · Jul 30, 2014

Just read this post as I am new to this site, not new to nursing though, being a 30 year vet, in both UK and Canada. Psych nursing easy? Not if your commitment to guiding your clients through change is genuine. As a psych nurse we need to be on top of medical skills (much needed in acute care psych) and we need to be sure that our "chat" is; if not therapeutic, at least not liable to cause increased emotional distress, e.g. the patient takes off and self harms or harms another person. Chat isn't chat in psych,it is treatment.

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · Jul 30, 2014

I fee fortunate to work in a well run psych facility.

I have friends who work in SNFs and they have a very hard job.

But I wouldn't say psych nursing is "easy". It's different. My patients are ambulatory and can talk, which makes my job easier in that respect.

However, I still use my nursing skills in psych. I apply my medical knowledge while I do my job. I have From 16 to 50+ patients in psych. That's not "easy".

I think psych is different. But i wouldn't say "easy".

My work load is manageable. But still I work hard because I want to be a good nurse for my patients/ residents.

Nursenary · Aug 11, 2014

Keep on telling you're self that

if you think it is easy than you're are very new at it its not has physical as other nursing jobs ,

however if you want to help people its a mental skill that is more complex than any other nursing field

the mind is more complicated that any other body system

And by the the way I work at Mercy fitz Hospital in Phila

So I have one dead coworker and one wounded coworker

So Guess again !