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Discussion

Scenes from the Psych Unit

I will be hearing back on interview results soon and want to hit the ground running if I get hired. I have two psych text books on the way from amazon, but suspect they will be filled with the usual nursing generalities. Can you describe one or more scenes with back-and-forth dialog for either common interactions you have in psych, Or a specific unusual occurrence that happened to you or a coworker? (Please set up the situation and end with its resolution: pt talked down, pt gladly went to group, pt restrained, etc.)

For example:

A depressed patient had a piece of broken glass in his hand . . .

A manic-depressive in the manic phase wouldn't go to group . . .

A borderline personality wouldn't stop asking about my family . . .

I guess my point here is that I have no idea what to expect and I want to be able to handle ALL (haha) situations that could come up. I realize now upon reading that sentence that all situations will be handled one way or the other, but there will be better ways to handle situations and poorer ways of handling situations. So I guess I'm looking for examples of situations that went well (example of what to do) or situations that were handled poorly (example of what not to do).

Thanks!!!

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    Your post brings up a few thoughts. First, if you are hired for a psych position, you'll have plenty of your own experiences to share soon. I can tell you tons of stories about situations that ended well or didn't end well but until you are there on your own, they're really just stories.

    Please don't think that you will be able to handle everything right off the bat. You will make some mistakes and that's ok. It takes a while to figure out how to manage different types of patients. Just try to learn from it all and do the best you can. Read whatever you can get your hands on and ask other nurses on your unit for information and advice. The unit likely has a number of resources for you, too.

    Here is one story for you that just happened this week. Called to a code green - emergency mental health response - on a unit next door to ours in their restricted area. When we got there, a naked patient had a fellow nurse by her hair on the back of her head. Pt was crouched on the floor with the security guard half over him and the RN half under him. No, I'm not sure how they all got that way. After a very tense minute, he let go and was quickly carried to his room and secluded. Very very ugly situation that could have been much worse. Patients can turn on a dime, especially new admits, which he was. And tie up long hair.

    Good luck to you.

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    As far as personal questions I usually say "Im sorry but policy states I can not discuss my personal life with patients."

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