Psychiatric Nurse

Merlyn · Jun 5, 2012

I always wanted to be a psychiatric nurse but the only problem is I have no experience aside from my clinical when i was a student...
i have a few questions regarding this matter
1. is there some facilities that accept newly grad in IL, if so where can i apply?
2. Is it really a dangerous environment to work?
3. how much is the starting salary (per hour)?
thanks alot
:redbeathe

Here in NJ they will except new graduates, Now to the danger. It can be dangerous. If you brake some of the rules. First Always know where you are. Mental illness doesn't show. You can not look at a person, most of the time, and say he is mentally ill. The Guy that is dress kind of sloppy may be your head nurse and the guy in the suit and tie may have killed and chopped up his family. Always follow the CNA or Hsts. If they say don't bother that patient, don't both him. If they tell you don't turn your back on that patient, Don't turn your back. If they tell you to run you run. For they are the ones that know the patients best. They spend 8-16 hours with them. Don't ever give a patient your address, Birthday, or talk of your personnel life with a patient. Don't talk about your kids or anything other then asking how are you? Never do favors for the patients. Remember you will be taking to a disease not a human being. Always know where the exits are. Never be in a place where you don't know who is in back of you. This sounds like a lot but you will get extensive orientation at the hospital. Now the pay at the State hospital is pretty good, but the benefits are great. In the 1st year that I work at the psych hospital, I manage to get 5 weeks off. With the regular days off, Vacation days, personnel days, comp time(Overtime) health benefits etc. Wish you luck

zenaida · Jun 5, 2012

What are the qualifications that they need? is it a hard job? have u ever been beaten up or something? i actually have a friend that works in a mental facility in new zealand and during her first month her patient slapped her on the face.. what should i do to get this job i admire ur courage coz i know it takes millions or nerve cells to have the guts working in a mental facility, to be honest im not sure enough if i can do it still, im hoping for the best..thanks alot Merlyn

Merlyn · Jun 6, 2012

What are the qualifications that they need? is it a hard job? have u ever been beaten up or something? i actually have a friend that works in a mental facility in new zealand and during her first month her patient slapped her on the face.. what should i do to get this job i admire ur courage coz i know it takes millions or nerve cells to have the guts working in a mental facility, to be honest im not sure enough if i can do it still, im hoping for the best..thanks alot Merlyn

It does take guts and you get no respect from nurses in the glory departments(ICU,CCU,ED,even Med/Surg.) the ones that they make TV shows out of. Plus some nurses think that if you don't have a stethoscope around your neck and your pockets aren't full of tape, or heparin flushes you aren't a nurse they don't realize that you work with you wits.I have worked on the glory units, I have found that in the down time they read newspapers , while in the psych hospitals the down time was taken up by Chess games. You have to keep your mind going because that all you have to help the patients. If you go into a lock unit and you think you know more than the HSts or CNAs that work there. It can be deadly. If they say don't mess with that patient and you do, you can end up in traction. I was hunt about three times. Nothing Serious, I recall once. I had work every holiday. This time I had the weekend off PLUS MLK day but I wanted a rest. Enter my savoir in the form of Desmond, the patient form Hell. This guy would go off at the drop of a hat. It was a Wednesday morning before my big three day weekend. At about three in the morning (I was working 11-7 shift) Desmond went off. Five guys not including myself struggled to put Desmond into restraints. Desmond got one arm free and punched me full force in the jaw. (Now as any Irishman will tell you, this is how we say hello in a Bar.) So my head went with the punch and the snapped back to look Desmond in the face. The guy looked so confused that the men had an easy time retaining the patient. But I went into my act of saying I was so hurt. They took X-rays of my head, found nothing there but the doctor gave me another three days to heal. So I got about a week off because a Desmond. You might get hit you may not. You might have to restrain a patient. I know when I again went to the hospital as an agency nurse, the restraint count was way down. New meds and new behavior modification cut the times patient had to be restrain way down. The new behavior modification just consists of listening to the patient. Don't be afraid. You will learn. I asked a HST who had been at the hospital for 20 years if he was ever afraid. He said no just aware of where I am. Best of Luck again, Grasshopper.

Whispera, MSN, RN · Jun 6, 2012

Merlyn has a slanted idea of what psychiatric nursing is like. The amount of danger is dependent on where you work, and how sick the patients are. I've worked at 3 different facilities. Safety is alway a priority for staff and patients. However, most patients were regular people with an illness, not people likely to hurt anyone but themselves.

It's very rewarding to see someone get his illness under control and to be part of it.

Merlyn · Jun 6, 2012

Merlyn has a slanted idea of what psychiatric nursing is like. The amount of danger is dependent on where you work, and how sick the patients are. I've worked at 3 different facilities. Safety is alway a priority for staff and patients. However, most patients were regular people with an illness, not people likely to hurt anyone but themselves.
It's very rewarding to see someone get his illness under control and to be part of it.

You are right it is slanted and it does depend on where you work. I worked in the pits. But in a medical center or acute care Psychiatric the patients are less combative. One well know place that I worked was like a country club where patients roamed in and out at will. What I talked about is a State Hospital for chronic and criminally insane that don't get well.

bridgetclare · Jun 7, 2012

From my experience in psych nursing, there is nearly the same risk in med-surg or emergency nursing. Where I did my placement, in an acute inpatient unit, we all carried around portably alarms that meant if you were ever threatened you just press it and 10 nurses and security come. I have worked in disability support and have been assaulted way more in that, then the people I know doing psych nursing. It's true that you need to be sensible with things like never letting a consumer between you and the door, but it can be enjoyable and rewarding.

Kelly RN,BSN · Jun 7, 2012

I work in a state psy hospital. I absolutely love it. I did my time in a medical hospital straight out of nursing school because I felt I needed the experience. But after 3 long years I returned to psych where I had been a tech there while in nursing school. I encourage youu to act on your intuition and do the kind of nursing you believe you will love. I have been there 3 years as a tech and 4 years as a nurse and have never had an injury that required medical attention. You will learn the skills to keep yourself safe. Im sure they will hire someone without experience because unfortunetly psch nurses are not easy to come by. It is a very rewarding specialty. You will get to know your patients very well as unfortunetly they often have long stays and return often. They arent as different as you may think. They just need help overcoming lifes challenges. And you will have an important role in their outcomes.