Psychiatric Nurse Interview

sleepdeprived1 · Oct 10, 2012

Hello,
I am a pre-nursing student and I am interested in becoming a psychiatric nurse. In my English class I have to write a research paper on my dream career, but I have no one to interview. I've called many hospitals in my area and they all said they cannot do over the phone interviews. I was wondering if their are any psychiatric nurses out there that are willing to help me out and answer some questions. Feel free to private message me with answers or any other information that you think will be useful for my paper.
Name:
School Graduated From and year:
Was nursing school as hard as everyone says it is?Yes, I thought it was harder d/t the fact I had a family at home and started out working full-time, but it is definately worth it in the end when you can look back and see what you have accomplished!
Do you work in a hospital? Yes.
What hospital?I work in a private mental health hospital
What's a typical day like? There is no such thing as a typical day in mental health,it always depends on the current patient-some are better to work with than others.
What are your responsibilities?Patient safety is always the number one priority as we have alot of patients being admitted for suicidal ideation and prior attempts. Also maintaining safety of patients being admitted for detox so they do not go into stroke,seizures..from drug/alcohol withdrawals. Safety is maintained by ensuring that the techs are keeping up with rounds on patients and being aware of changes with patients, also the nurse is responsible to do rounds when the tech is busy or on break. Doing admission assessments,along with verifying home medications with their pharmacy, creating care plans, checking that the pharmacy enters Doctor's orders correctly, passing medications, being aware of side effects and reporting these, paging Doctor for medications needed or to report decline or aggressive/psychotic patient that may need injections or oral meds, doing alcohol/drug detox assessments as scheduled and medicating appropriately. Also, checking blood sugars of diabetic patients, giving insulin, patient education,...
What are the different shifts offered?8 hour shifts on 1st , 2nd , and 3rd there are also weekend hours (Saturday and Sundays from 7pm-7am for RN's)
Why did you choose the psychiatric field?eMental health and the mind fascinate me. I also want to help remove the stigma attached to mental illness.
What do you love most and hate most about your job?I love the patients who appreciate my help and when I can make a difference in their lives. I hate the patients who act like they are entitled to everything and are up at the nurses station all the time med seeking. I also hate working short staffed.
Any advice?

If you want to work in mental health, I would suggest working as a tech at a psych hospital before you graduate, part time. That way it will give you more experience to see if this is something you still want to pursue as a RN. It will also make your adjustment from SN to RN easier.

Sorry I really don't like putting my name or personal info up but feel free to make that part up! Good Luck!

Elladora · Oct 14, 2012

Name: Lol Elladora

School Graduated From and year: A small community college, 2011

Was nursing school as hard as everyone says it is? Yes, and then some. It's one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. It's a huge time commitment and it takes a LOT of hard work.

Do you work in a hospital? No

What hospital?

What's a typical day like? There is no "typical" day. I generally get to work, have report, catch up on reading social concerns and 24 hour notes, do a set of rounds, pass meds, supervise supper, take break, pass meds, chart, do another set of rounds if needed, do report, go home. That's what I pretty much "have" to do everyday. In between, I listen to clients, assist with ADLs, break up fights, treat injuries, clean up vomit/feces/urine, fill out incident reports, hunt for lost clients, run up and down the stairs (3 stories) about 100000 times per shift, do paperwork, stock the medroom, watch a little tv with the clients (cleverly disguised chance to talk to them in a non-threatening setting), field phone calls, etc, etc, etc

What are your responsibilities? See all of the above. Plus I'm the nurse lead/charge nurse so I have to not only do my job, I have to make sure my co-workers are doing theirs.

What are the different shifts offered? 3 - 1st, 2nd and 3rd. I work 2nd.

Why did you choose the psychiatric field? I fell in love with it during clinicals after being SO sure I would work in peds. Hated peds.

What do you love most and hate most about your job? Love - the interactions with the clients, the times you feel you really make a difference, working with a close knit team (you have to be in psych - your life can literally depend on your co-workers actions). Hate - the clients you can not help, no matter how hard you try. The politics of it all. (Mental health funding cuts anyone?)

Any advice? Be flexible. Have a sense of humor. Buy good shoes that won't fall off when you run.