Why do one year Med surg nursing before going into Psychiatry Nursing

[PurifiedH2O]

I want to go into psychiatry as a nurse but my coworkers a re telling me to go into medsurg for one year before going into psych. they explained about going straight into psych would not be as profitable for me and some organizations require the nurse to do a least one year med surg. Is that true? and Why?

[sarmedic70]

WOW............methinks I need to move to MN.......$31/hr............in a state facility????????? And as a new grad??? What if one is not a new grad and has psych experience?

Our state facility is around $20...............I would LOVE to work in the Forensic unit.............geriatric no thank you though. That is the only unit in our hospital I just simply cannot work................

That is awesome...................

[RN Zeke]

I have traveled since 1997, so will continue to do so. I'm sorry you have such a bad attitude about what my experiences has been.

Good Day

[sarmedic70]

Who do you travel with? Are there many psych travel positions for RNs..............I am seriously considering eventually doing travel nursing; however, where to start and what agency............so many to choose from................ugh!

Cheers and thanks!

:-)

[PMHNP10]

I traveled with Supplemental Health Care. They have a division committed to psych staffing and have assignments throughout the US. If you are truly flexible to travel anywhere at any time, they are a valid option

[Jules A, MSN]

Put yourself in the shoes of a patient. You're coughing so hard you're unable to sleep and you've got stress incontinence. You can't get enough breath to satisfy the air hunger and you're wheezing. You're miserable. No one will take your temp (which is 101). You've got pneumonia but there is no one on the floor who can identify the lung sounds as rales. The nurse think's you've got a cold. There is no medical MD to round in the AM and you know this. You're begging for some kind of relief but no one hears you. How therapeutic is that?

If you were that patient, wouldn't you want to know someone could take care of all your needs? It's not like you can walk out of there. Just looking at things from the patient's perspective.

Your point is well taken but truthfully with the s/s you mention here I don't think I would be so quick to blow this off as the common cold and as a new nurse whether on a med-surge floor or a psych facility if the lungs sounded "odd" to me, I would ask another nurse to take a listen.

[wonderbee, BSN, RN]

Removed post.

[wonderbee, BSN, RN]

Your point is well taken but truthfully with the s/s you mention here I don't think I would be so quick to blow this off as the common cold and as a new nurse whether on a med-surge floor or a psych facility if the lungs sounded "odd" to me, I would ask another nurse to take a listen.

I bring this particular situation up because I was that patient. I went through a rough patch around 20 years ago and wound up on a psych unit with clinical depression. I'm glad you would ask to listen. The nurses on the unit that took care of me never bothered to pick up a stethoscope and listen.

[EarthChild1130]

I went straight to psych from school and had a blast; then I moved to another state and had to take a job on a med/surg unit...I was heartbroken because my love in career is psych nursing...I hated it at first and still hope I never have to do it again...but I am glad I got some very valuable assessment skills...I now work in a county mental health clinic.

I have learned that oftentimes I am the patient's main advocate both psychiatrically AND medically speaking. I have patients that either can't or won't explain to me how they physically feel, so I have to rely on those assessment skills. I hope I never have to drop another NG tube, but my head-to-toe assessment skills are treasured skills. :)

[Jules A, MSN]

I bring this particular situation up because I was that patient. I went through a rough patch around 20 years ago and wound up on a psych unit with clinical depression. I'm glad you would ask to listen. The nurses on the unit that took care of me never bothered to pick up a stethoscope and listen.

I am so sorry this happened to you. Thank you for sharing it because your experience might help someone take a moment to re-asses under similar circumstances in the future.

[bollweevil]

Your point is well taken but truthfully with the s/s you mention here I don't think I would be so quick to blow this off as the common cold and as a new nurse whether on a med-surge floor or a psych facility if the lungs sounded "odd" to me, I would ask another nurse to take a listen.

Some of the Psych RN's at my hospital would say you were faking it for the attention. They would not check your temp, they would not believe your cough, they would not listen to your lungs, they wouldn't send you to the Medicine Clinic. They might not even mention any of it to the Psychiatrist. Angers and frustrates and scares me no end. What if they were the patients? Would they not want to be believed and to receive proper care? Why is it so hard to remember that someone is not just bipolar or schiz or a PD? That person is also a full person, with a body that can get sick. Laziness? Fear of being "too nice" or taken advantage of or what?

I have struggled with this my whole career. I have seen ER nurses who thought everyone was a louse, a fake, I have seen doctors think everyone was a drug addict, I have seen Psych nurses think everyone was faking physical ailments. Very disturbing.

My prayer for all of them is that they suffer the same probloems as their patients and then decide who is faking and who is not. This is why we must be objective. Listen to lungs, auscultate the abdomen, check for edema, observe the skin temp and state of dryness/wetness. Look for jaundice, check the lab results. Get the VS. Ask the symptoms. Nothing like objectivity and an honest, open-minded exam before deciding what's wrong with a patient.