Pysch Nursing vs Primary Care RN

dishes, BSN, RN · Jul 30, 2016

Are they short staffed on the psych unit? what shifts will you work on the psych unit?

obc8166 · Jul 30, 2016

They need help at night on the Pysch Unit. I will be working 11-7am and occasional 12 hour shifts at night. I don't mind working with shorter staff on pysch because its not postop patients and people wanting pain and nausea medication every hour like on med surg if that makes sense.

oceanblue52 · Jul 31, 2016

Understaffing in Psych can be equally bad. You will still have patients with chronic pain, some of whom can get a little surly if it's not given on the dot. If you have patients detoxing you will need to assess and medicate appropriately every 1-4 hours. One manic or disorganized patient can keep you distracted all night and if you have a really long, nasty behavioral code, it can put you tremendously behind your other work. Not to mention if you get a bunch of admissions back to back (my record working as a tech was 7 in an 8 hour shift). I'm not trying to dissuade you from taking the job; Psych can be very rewarding. It has its own challenges though and can be very stressful if you are short staffed. Teamwork and an understanding management is crucial.

I would LOVE to work in a physican's office, for similar reasons as you. Not sure where you live but $16.50 seems pretty low? What is the patient staff ratio on the Psych floor? Would you be working with a specific population?

obc8166 · Jul 31, 2016

Thank you for this information! I did not think of it this way. I appreciate your input. I live in a small town in Virginia, I thought that was low pay as well. They told me it was due to having one year experience and also an office setting is much lower from a hospital per management there. I do not know the ratio for the psychological floor. However I do know they are very picky about not placing a lot of patients on their floor if they do not have enough help. I really desire the office job but I think I am worried about the low pay and it is not what I am used to. At this point I am willing to take anything to get out of MedSurg

oceanblue52 · Jul 31, 2016

I am glad to hear that they are careful about not overloading the floor if you are understaffed. It is a HUGE safety issue. Imagine if you were the only nurse on the floor, in the middle of processing 1 admit, waiting for a tech to check a second admit for contraband (maybe they have a sharp object and want to hurt themselves); meanwhile a third patient starts seizing on floor from detox, and a forth starts punching a wall and threatening your staff, all within 5 minutes time. This scenario is thankfully not common, but it's really important to make sure you have enough staff. We had a few situations like this at one of my old jobs and the turn around for nurses was absurdly high. Sounds like you've done your research but if you are hesitant at all in accepting the job, see if you can learn a little more about how these contingencies are handled. I, for one loved my Psych experience and think it will give you valuable skills for down the road. Let us know what you decide! :-)

dishes, BSN, RN · Aug 1, 2016

Do you have a good understanding of mental health? Do you have strong communication skills with patients and families? If running away from med surg is the only reason you want to work in psych, you should become more informed about career planning.

obc8166 · Aug 1, 2016

I wouldn't say I am running away from MedSurg... it id hard on my body running ragged from one floor to the other end constantly. However I accepted the Pysch position. Any thoughts? (Positive mainly)

dishes, BSN, RN · Aug 1, 2016

I get what you are running away from, but what are you bringing to the psych position? Do you have a genuine interest in the patient population? effective communication skills? ability to educate and support patients and families in crisis?

obc8166 · Aug 2, 2016

When I first graduated I wanted to go straight into the Pysch Unit. But they encouraged me to get MedSurg experience. I know it seems I am running away based on my thread. However I do have a genuine interest in talking one on one and helping people. Unfortunately we don't have time to talk to people because its so busy on our unit. It would be a new change for sure. I really do think I can do this but sure it will be a challenge.

obc8166 · Aug 2, 2016

Thank you so much for your reply! I just accepted this position today. I appreciate you taking time out to respond.

allnurses Guide · Aug 2, 2016

Sounds like you will be a good addition to the unit! I also wanted to go straight into psych out of school, but ended up doing Med Surge for three years first. I found psych interesting.