Should I be concerned?

[mangopeach]

I'm a bit bummed right now & wanted to get some advice from you experienced psych nurses.

I had my Psych final today & I'm so disappointed that I barely passed the final exam. I still got a B for the course though. I got my first 100% ever in nursing school on my first Psych exam. But yet I almost bombed the final.

I really want to be a psych nurse but now I'm questioning that. I'm in my 3rd semester & I've never failed a nursing exam & yet I come pretty close to failing an exam in the thing that I want to do. I've been trying to tell myself OK, its just 1 exam but I'm just really questioning myself if I've got what it takes. I knew all my meds, side effects, etc, thank goodness! The med questions saved me. I really screwed up with questions like how to respond to disruptive clients, & other questions to do with communication.

I loved my clinical rotation. I had a suicidal patient and at times, it was difficult communicating with him. He did open up a bit more towards the end. I'm wondering if I should be concerned that I may not be able to effectively communicate with patients. Was this something that you found improved with time?

[ccoombs]

I wouldn't sweat it. It is important to understand principles of therapeutic communication but in practice patients differ dramatically based on a multitude of factors, so these techniques are rarely applied in a textbook way. Additionally deescalation varies a lot from situation to situation and even if you understand completely what to say you may find it difficult to articulate these things in a crisis. a psychiatric emergency is rarely pretty and rarely looks like it does on a test. Again, try to understand the underlying principles and try your best in practice.

[Smitty08]

I agree don't sweat it. Some of those questions on therapeutic communication are among the hardest. Try to find a really good review book and blast away at the questions and be sure to read the rationales for the answer. If psych. is what you like, don't move on, stick with it. And yes, you will definitely improve in your psych. nursing as you mature in your practice -and- expect to make small mistakes at first, that you will learn from. You're human. It's most important that you like it, and you have the right temperament for it. It's a fantastically rewarding nursing area! Best of luck!