RE:Psych Nursing,RN

[fbashum]

I've been a psych nurse for about 3 years. I am thinking of moving to the Dallas/Fort Worth area to work in psych. I would like if someone could help me answer a few questions. What would be the average pay rate for my experience? Which health system is the best to work for (Baylor-All Saints, Trinity, Texas Health Resource, Green Oaks-HCA). Do you know anything or can give me advice on the jurisprudence exam? I also have heard about facilities reporting things on employees and making it hard for them to get hired in other facilities. Is this true, can a facility really do this to someone, even for simple mistakes or if they just don't like you? Please help answering these questions for me. Your help is greatly appreciated.

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

Hi, I am a school nurse in the DFW metroplex, so I don't know about the pay rates for hospitals, but maybe I can help with some of the other questions.

I have friends who are very happy at Baylor. If I were to go back into the hospital setting they would be a strong contender. Texas Health Resources just announced massive layoffs and eliminating positions. No idea if nurses were affected, but it is something to consider.

If I was going to do Psych in Fort Worth, I would go to JPS Trinity Springs Pavillion. Yes, they are the county facility, but I did clinicals there in school and loved it. The nurses are great and their adolescent program is top notch. I wish I would have done my student residency there, because most of the students who did got hired on. There is always the county MHMR to look into as well.

As far as the jurisprudence exam, it is not a big deal. I did not have to take it, but my mom did when she moved here and she was all panicked about it. Turns out you can look up the answers online while you take it and most of them are common sense anyway. It is not a bad idea to glance over the study materials before hand just so you know where to find the answers.

For your last question, I think you are talking about Group One. I do not have any direct experience with them, or know anyone who does. There are many victims out there though. If you do a search on this forum you will find lots of information on them. They are a problem in the area, but not enough to make me move elsewhere. If you want to work here, come on down and don't stress too much about them!

Good luck!

[fbashum]

Well done. Thank you for taking time to answer my questions. By the way - what is MHMR? Is this a county mental health hospital?

Thank you.

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

MHMR stands for Mental Health - Mental Retardation. It is a division of the Department of Health in most counties. In most counties that I am aware of, they have outpatient services, they handle early childhood interventions, and things of that nature. The ones I know of do not have an inpatient hospital. Glad I could help!

[fbashum]

Thank you