Psych Nursing?

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Specializes in Med-surg., Psychiatric.

Hi - will be relocating to the Atlanta area soon. Is anyone in the mental health field? Looking for good psych facilities/hospitals in the Atlanta area - any info would be appreciated!!!

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There is a tremendous amount of hospitals and mental health care facilities in GA. The one that I know of that is highly reputable is Peachford, just outside of Atlanta in Dunwoody.

I have not worked there becasue I am still in the research portion of having to make a career change (at 32) since the industry I have worked in forever here in Ga. (spa industry) is really collapsing and I have always wanted to be an R.N. but I was never able to becasue I have a moprtgage, 3 year old, etc. but looking at the brite-side of this economic downfall and a job loss I may take this oppertunity to follow my dream and my husband is finally on board with me going to nursing schools and luckily there are great schools here in Ga and I have been getting my Associates in Business over the last few years so i am glad that I did that so that since now i know what I want to do I alsready have some classes under my belt.

Good luck and check out Peachford, it is pretty well known hospital and then has nurses that work in the outpatients Dr's buiding that are adjecent to the hospital.

Good luck! I hope I was of help to you!!!!

Christine

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Specializes in Med-surg., Psychiatric.

Thank you so much for that info - I have seen the name and will check Peachford out! Good luck with your pursuit of nursing, also!

Deb

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Thank you! Your are welcome. As I mentioned I am stil in the pre-nursing student/research time so can you tell me how east, or what it takes to transfer you license form state to state or is it a national licensure. I def. dont want to live in Ga too much longer after I get my RN, not sure where I want to go but probably back to somewhere that has a beach. How easy is it to get your license transferred or get reciprocity from state to state?

I am interested in becomming a psych nurse or L&D but psych is probably my first choice but I guess I will have to see when I actually get to experience the job.

May I ask why you like being a nurse in psych?

Thank you for the info!

Christine

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Hi - will be relocating to the Atlanta area soon. Is anyone in the mental health field? Looking for good psych facilities/hospitals in the Atlanta area - any info would be appreciated!!!

I did one of my clinicals at Ridgeview Institute in Smyrna. I really liked it there....

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Specializes in Med-surg., Psychiatric.

It's pretty easy to transfer license to another state - I just got my GA license this week. It took about 6 weeks to get it. You have to fill out an application, show proof of working as an RN, but it's not too complicated. Every state is different and has different requirements, but not a big deal. Ga is the first board of nursing that ever required a passport size photo - ha!

I like psych because it is just fascinating to me - I've always been interested in people and what makes them "tick"..... and I've also always felt I'm really helping people in this area of nursing. AND I will say it's never boring! :) Mental illness still has such a stigma attached to it, and I guess I feel people with mental illness deserve the respect everyone else with any illness deserves.... I've met wonderful people in this field (both the staff AND the patients)!

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Oh yes thank you to the other poster, I forgot about the Ridgeview Institute which may be even bigger than Peachford but about the same distance form Atl. (not far at all) they also have the main hospital and the the camus which houses all of the outpatient Dr's office's etc.

Your reasoning for liking and continuing to like working in Psych nursing sounds exactly like the reasons that I think at this time, before starting nursing school, that psych would be the right place for me!

Do you know where in Atl. you will be living? Most people say Atl but the majority of people live in the town that ore "outside of the perimeter (otp)" because the cost of living is about 2/3 less that "inside the perimeter itp" which both mean if you look at a map of Atlanta and Ga you will see the major highways and I-75 run N and S and I-285 is whats known as the hub becasue it connects all of the other highways and is a circular hwy that has N S E & W and anyhting inside of that circle is ITP and outside of that circle is OTP, and you thought nursing terminology is hard. Where abouts are you moving from?

Thanks again!

Christine

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Specializes in Med-surg., Psychiatric.

Thanks Finally2008 for the Ridgeview suggestion - will look into that one, also! :)

I'm really not sure where I'll be living... My sister lives in Alpharetta, but it seems a little expensive! Although I guess I don't have much to compare it to since I haven't really looked at other areas yet.... I'm moving from Pensacola, FL, btw.....

Any suggestions on areas of Atlanta are welcome, also!

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:yeah:Alpharetta isnt OTP outside of the perimeter and while it def. has its pricier areas it is a nice place to live but with the housing market right now, yo never know it just depends on if you are going to buy, rent house or apt, if you are renting at all then Alphy is a little pricier when you can live about 10 minutes away 9on the highway) for a fraction of the cost.

Can we trade, I really dont know about pensicola but I used to live in Lakeland (central fla in between Tampa and Orlando) and would love to move back to someplace sunnier and with access to the ocean becasue that is what my husabnd and I love the most so we want to move in that direction but there really are a lot of oppertunities up here and an RN and anyhting esle you may want to do, just no beach :(

Please do not hesitiate to let me know if you have any other specific ?'s about Atl or Ga. because I have been here for aobut 8 years now after living in Hawaii for 5 after HS and living in Fl. I am really ready for a change but I have a great scholarship here that I earned that will pay 100% of my school as long as I maintian at least a 3.0 GPA I can go to any GA public Univ. for 100% tuition paid so it would be stupid of me to leave at this point and then I probably need to stay here at least for 1 year after I graduate because from reading on here i highly double that GA is experiencing the troubles that new grads are expereincing while trying to obtain jobs in other areas. There is def. a need for nurses here.

Let me know if you have any other Ga. related ?'s and I am happy to help!

Christine:chuckle

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Specializes in Med-surg., Psychiatric.

Thanks Christine! I'll definitely miss the beaches, but there isn't much of a job market here (unless you're a nurse - ha), and it will be nice having more choices! Where in Atlanta area do you live? I'd like a nice, safe area, that isn't too expensive.... probably too much to ask, right? :D

Thanks again!!!

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Hwy Deb! (another coincidence that is my younger sister's name IS Deborah but she had always been Dec or Debbie to me;0...

No way not at all about being close to work but live far enough out so homes arent so affordable, I live 20 Min from Atlanta and 1 minute from I-75 which is 10 min from I-285 so I am in the perfect place to be ale to work ANYWHERE in the Metro Atl. area as they call it. I an jut outside of the perimeter and wish I would have sold my home when it had tripeled in price a few years back if I would have known then what I know now,,,but then again staying in our home will not allow me to go to nuesing school since I have always been more of the "bread winner: in the family. I live in Matietta, GA which I love becasue it is close enough but far away if you kow what I mean, When we purhashed this home (our first) my husband and I had both been working at the Four Seasons hotel so I transferred here from Hawaii w/ my b/f that I met in HS in Florida, brought him out to Hawaii where I was living, Moving from there deserves one of these guys.:banghead:

Mainly we lofe so I could go to school for nursing and UH that offers the BSN is on the complete opposite of the Big Isle of Kona where we lived so it was not realistic to drive there for school and since the island had so many different climates just around the corner from each other, the side with the school is on is literally a rain forest, grey and dreary, filled with the majority of people being mainly locals and not much work at all for my husband on that side at all when just on the other side in Kailua-Kona (I dont know if you have ever been to the islands) but we lived on the tropical side where everyday was 85 degrees with a light breeze and it truly was paradise.

I live in Marietta which as I said is 20 min from Midtown and 30 from downtown where I work now as an M.A. at Emory Hops (the Drs Bldgs) which you may have heard of. Mt neighborgood is very COUNTRY feeling and VERY safe, when you have rednecks all around you that show off their guns all the time...it would be hard not to feel salfe. We live in a white house with a white pickett fence a big front yard and a large backyard that is fenced in and once spring comes and the trees fill in, you cant even see the neighbors house so the back yeard is very private! The inside is also adorable brand new hardwoods throughout but the best thing is we live literally 1 minute from I-75 which was one of the main reasons people used to knock on our door and make us sweet offers to sell it to them on the spot, but it was a no go necasue I am only 32 and had worked my tail off getting us that house. The things is that since I have always been the "breadwinner" of the family and now I cant make crap we will try to sell it or just have to lose it so I can go to school full time. That will be the only way it will ever be possible. We are young we can start ovr and since so many other people are in the boat with this on his one it wont sting as much to let it go or sell it becasue I will being doing so to make my dreams come tru and to be set for kife and I can do the 3/12's so I can be a part of my daughters life.

PM me anytime I would love to have you as a contact of someonethat is already in the fiend and I can help you with Altanta and maybe in turn you can help me with nursing.

There are tons of options for nurses here, especially with experience and since I am also a medical esthetician (skin care) I have a lot of connections with local Dr's so I may be able to help you there. So just keep sending all of you Atl related ?'s my way and I would be happy to give you my opinion on them or my honest opinion. My husband work for almost 10 years as a congierge here in Atl. so if theere is something i cant answer for you he always can. Right now getting a job around here is all about who you know and I know quite a bit of Dr's by either woring for them, or consulting for them and setting up medical esthetics in their practive, so I think I may be able to assist you on your job search!

Do you know the exact timelie yet of your planned move?

Let me know...and again, any other question you have about anything Atl. is more than welcome from you and I will do my best to get an answer for you as long as I get to pick your brain a little more about the questions I have about becomming a nurse.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Christine

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Specializes in Med-surg., Psychiatric.

Hey, Christine -

That's awesome - lots of info! Yeh, I'm in sorta the same boat.... about my house. Need to sell, but won't bring as much as I put into it, so thinking about renting it out for a few years until the market's better. Right now I'm trying to finish painting and getting my house ready (for selling or renting or whatever), and then my son starts college in the fall, and I'll probably move to Atlanta sometime around then.

No problem at all with answering any nursing questions you have - would be glad to! I will email you at your email address.......look for me! :)

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