Senior year..Eating Disorder RN jobs

Sour Lemon · Jul 9, 2018

That may be a bit too rare and specialized for a new graduate. In fact, I think it would be rare and difficult for an experienced nurse to find a position like that.

I think med/surg and behavior health would both be a step towards your goal ...maybe adolescent behavioral health? Severe eating disorders can cause a multitude of physical medical issues, so it seems like a strong background in both would be most beneficial.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 10, 2018

I agree. You're not likely to land a new-grad eating disorders job out of the gate. The thing is, there's a lot more to it than just the eating disorder. Almost all the time, these patient carry another psychiatric diagnosis with them (Axis I and/or II). In addition, eating disorders is one of the few psychiatric illnesses that have strong physiological effects. You need to understand all the comorbidities as well as the eating disorder. And you're going to be treating body as well as mind.

Start off in general psych first to gain experience. You're going to encounter a lot of ED patients in regular psych units, so it's not as though you'll never get to work with anyone without an eating disorder.

I've worked in eating disorders...be prepared for a lot of Axis II and substance abuse issues in these patients in addition to the ED.

umichnurse2019 · Jul 10, 2018

Thank you so much for the response. So do you suggest I do general psych first and then try and find a job with EDs? Should I also do medsurg at all? Thanks for the insight!

Yoga RN · Jul 12, 2018

Congratulations on your decision! That is very exciting! From my experience, if something has been on your heart for a while, it is worth pursuing. To answer your question, start with a search in your area for an eating disorder treatment center and see what you find! These types of places definitely do exist. There are clinics, outpatient groups, acute inpatient facilities, and residential programs all dedicated specifically to helping those with eating disorders.

There is an amazing clinic/residential program in my city for eating disorders where people of all ages can get treatment, and the staff includes nurses, psychiatrists, nutrition counselors, and therapists. I also know of two other inpatient psych units for eating disorders nearby, one is dedicated solely to people with eating disorders, the other is an adolescent psych unit where they treat a fair amount of eating disorders.

If this is your passion, then it is worth pursuing. Good luck!

Elizabeth1414, RN · Jul 30, 2018

My suggestion would be to look up eating disorder inpatient programs in your area and contact them directly? Ask if they're hiring, what sort of experience they look for in the nurses that they hire. Maybe even ask about doing one of your nursing school placements there if they're already not all set up.

Penholder · Aug 23, 2018

I work on an EDU and do NOT recommend it for new grads. Get med surg experience! You will be doing IVs, NGs, watching labs like a hawk etc on top of behaviors. Not for the faint of heart. And it is not all anorexia/bulemia anymore. There is ARFID, orthorexia, binge eating, night eating and unspecified. And a boat ton of sub abuse to go along with it! Message me if you want more info.

I want to add rhat in any given week I am having at least one patient on telemetry, doing numerous EKGs, tons of BGL (we watch for lows!), Lots of edema, numerous IVs for lytes, fluids, we do Ortho BPs 2x/day and are hard core about correction, we will restrain patients for nutrition. We will drop and pull supplement. Lots of legal stuff-conserved, meds against will, feed against will. Big psych issues are borderline personality disorder, bipolar, schizophrenia, OCD, autism...what don't we see! Someone mentioned about adolescents....we see it...but it's the 40 year old ED pt that worries us the most. There are really only 2 units in the country try that take the acuity level as high as this. Lots cut off bmi at some level and are picky about labs because refeeding is not joke.

imanurseintheor · Aug 30, 2018

This is something I actually would like to get into. I need general psych experience, first.

Lovezzzm · Nov 22, 2019

Thanks for the detailed info Penhandler!

You mentioned that there are really only 2 units in the country try that take the acuity level as high as the eating disorders unit you work on. Would you please tell me where these two units are I would really appreciate it.