Really stuck.....

Mish56, BSN, RN · Sep 26, 2008

Every hospital uses CNA's and mental health workers differently, but on my general psych inpatient unit, our CNA's do the physical care, ie: VS, assist with ADL's, draw bloods, EKG's, constant obs, Q15 min rounds, escort to tests and procedures. Our mental health workers run a few groups, meet 1:1 with pts, chart on a few, along with rounds, and constant ob's. We have a few mental helth workers who used to be CNA's, so are "crossed trained" and I'd rather have 1 of them vs. 2 folks that can only function in one role. That being said, most (not all) of our CNA's obviously have an interest in psych and have a good understanding of mental illness and work exceptionally well with all aspects of the patient.

As far as nursing vs. social work as a career choice, obviously most of us here have already choosen nursing. I think it offers more flexibility in terms of scheduling etc, and depending on the state you live in, you can also become "certified" as a counsler and function as a therapist or work with addictions. Nurses can also change area's of specialty, whereas SW cannot without another few years of school.

As far as the sciences go....as long as you say "I'm no good at them", you never will be. Change that mindset. Besides which, it's different when you learn it as an "applied" science vs. a high school requirement. You could also take them one at a time prior to applying to a nursing program.

There are also a lot of jobs out there that will pay off your student loans if you work for them for X amount of time.

Good luck!

insatiable · Sep 28, 2008

Can you tell me what a CNA does in the psych or mental health unit at a hospital or inpatient facility. I am stuck between going back to school for nursing or social work. I need a cna license as a pre-req to get into the nursing program and i absolutly love the mental health field. but i also am thinking about going back to school for social work, i know after i obtain my BSW i can work as a mental health counselor. I am 33 years old and received my AA degree back in 1995, so returning to school is a big step for me! Since you are all psych nurses, I would be so grateful if you could tell me the role of a CNA in your field and the role of a mental health counselor.
Also, do you feel nursing would be the better route, or social work. Keep in mind i have 2 young children at home, and i am really bad in science. But i love people, and am very compassionate.
thanks everyone...please i want as many responses as possible!:wink2:

I think it just depends on what kind of lifestyle you hope to have outside of work and what your expectations are as far as what you hope to be doing every day at work. For example, if youre more interested in talking with people about problems maybe SW would give you more job satisfaction. If youre more interested in medical aspects of mental illness maybe nursing

is the route to go. You not only need to think about your satisfaction at work but also how the job will impact you outside of work. Nurses generally make more money than social workers but with having 2 young children maybe the money wouldnt be worth the sacrifice of having to work longers hours, holidays, weekends, etc. Social workers generally have more traditional hours (of course it depends where you work) than nurses. Youd have to go to school longer for social work, so how do you feel about 4 years of college compared to two to become a nurse? It really just depends what is most important to you; some may say more money, traditional hours, emphasis on talking to clients/patients, not working nights/weekends/holidays, less time in school, benefits, a 3 day week compared to a 5 day week (from what I hear a lot of nurses work 3 12's), autonomy at work, etc....depends on the individual. Both of these fields have high burnout rates so its just very important to think about whats going to make you happy and what youre not willing to sacrifice.

Im not a nurse but I do have a masters in counseling and work with some social workers. I see pros and cons to both careers. Personally, I am looking into accelerated nursing programs to go back to school again. However, its not because I dont like counseling. I love what I do. I am just the type of person that doesnt see myself having the same job until die haha...I like change. I dont know what type of person you are but if you are anything like me and like to have flexiblity to move around in differeent fields (something that is important to me) something else to consider would be the possibility of doing an accelerated nursing program in the future. Example: You could bust out your BSW now and then later down the road if you decided you wanted to do nursing you could do an second degree accelerated BSN program, which would only take about a year to complete.

I dont know if that helps at all, but just some food for thought :).