Psychiatric Peds Nurse

[ncollins]

Hi everyone,

I just was hired in a pediatric psychiatric acute hospital. I have never worked with children or worked on a psych unit although I have seen a lot of psych throughout my career. I was wondering if anyone could suggest any good books to prep me for this transition?

Thanks!

[penelopelp]

Congrats on your new job. I don’t have a particular book to suggest. I would make sure you learn the psych meds—dosages, common side effects, what to watch for. Also read up on diagnoses. What kind of therapy are they using at your new employer? Is it CBT? If so, read up on that. I’d also read about trauma-informed care. Most of your patients will come from traumatic backgrounds.

Your new employer might have reading suggestions for you. In peds psych I do a lot of limit setting and have to teach the kids about boundaries. Most of them really struggle with social skills/boundaries/communication so you will need to be teaching those skills.

Most important will be having a sense of humor and providing yourself with self-care. The stories that you hear working in child psych can be very upsetting, so it’s important to learn ways to cope with everything you hear. You’ll need your downtime—I love to get outdoors to de-stress. I love working as a psych peds nurse. I hope it goes well for you. I see a lot of nurses burn out, but there are some of us who stay because we love it.