Stop Hating on Psych Nurses

Don't let others' problems get you down. Not always (but often enough), the people who find it necessary to disparage something like your enjoyment of psychiatric nursing are primarily doing so as a means of shoring up their own feelings about themselves. It isn't as if they're knocking your choices for a legitimate reason such as being unethical or illegal.

I would argue that this behavior isn't insulting in the least. What they are saying has nothing to do with anyone but themselves. It's unfortunate that they haven't found more pleasant ways to feel good about themselves.

49 minutes ago, LibraNurse27 said:

Hi all! During covid19 my hospital received funding from the government to cross train RNs to other units in case of a surge. Mostly it's been Med/Surg, PACU, OR training to ICU and Stepdown. I've been training a lot of people! Our manager asked who from Stepdown wants to train in ICU and picked a few people who have been in Stepdown for a while and were interested (not me!).

I've been going to inpatient psych to help with covid pts. I like it! Their manager asked me to cross train. I'm excited to train but my coworkers are laughing at me and about how everyone's going to ICU and I "got sent to Psych". As if ICU is superior. They're asking why I want to go there, it's no skills, "why do I want to deal with those people", it's just babysitting.

Most don't know I have a psych issue so it's insulting on a double level, to me personally and to psych nursing in general. Psych nurses are amazing and help people in need of compassion as well as treatment. I like seeing people go from hallucinating, depressed etc get better with meds and therapy (although I know it's not always butterflies and rainbows!) It gets me down to see my patients cycle through substance use, withdrawal, go out and drink/do drugs, come back, etc. without addressing the root of the problem. Has anyone faced this situation and what can we do to combat it? All areas of nursing are important

I wouldn't take it too seriously. It sounds like normal workplace banter, to me. Different departments talk trash about each other all the time. Even different shifts on the same unit are not immune.

I work behavioral health, med/surg, and occasionally help out in ER. I hear it all, but I hear nothing. ?

To piggyback on my other comment, the other side of this is that we often crave others' approval inappropriately; we mistakenly ascribe personal meaning to their words and actions. This is wrong and it's difficult to mentally combat. A good tactic is to briefly review what they've said (about us), pondering it to the extent necessary to come to a conclusion about the truth of it, and then relegate it to its proper place.

In this case, the proper place is with the one who spoke it. IOW, it is nonsense.

Only if it actually means something should you consider applying it to yourself personally.

Psyche is a specialized field of Nursing that doesn't appeal to a lot of people. I'm certainly one of those. I can't stand Psych. Sometimes I find myself making fun of the whole psychiatric industry. I just don't have a lot of respect for it, since there is so much subjectivity in it. It even seems politicized.

So, if you ever hear me making fun of Psych please don't take it personally. For my part, I'll try to restrain myself.

Bless you for doing Psych! That is one area I cannot do. This is why nurses are needed everywhere. One specialty is not better than another.

As a previous poster has stated--it is their problem not yours.

I worked with a nurse awhile ago in SNF, he was to put it nicely not a good fit, would miss labs, not medicate elevated BPs, etc. I saw him a few years later working at one of the Behavioral Health facilities and, he was a changed nurse! He wss great with the patients and I coud tell the patients trusted him. He had found his niche! So what I am getting at is tht you have found an area of nursing that maybe your niche! Go for it! ?

14 minutes ago, Davey Do said:

Ooooooh...

So you're a "Anti-Psych-Type", eh emergent?

It is good that you've come out of the closet.

Just say that you're using humor in order to decrease stress and people will think you're being therapeutic.

I find that, when people have decided to be offended oh, they will be offended. A lot of people really enjoy being offended. It's sort of a conditioned response that seems to happen in many.

“To not crave the approval of others but to let it come from within is true freedom”

-anonymous

But we’re also better

I get the same remarks because I love SNF nursing. Who cares what other nurses think? I want a job where I can be somewhat happy and feel like I'm making a difference.

I think psych nurses/social workers/psychiatrists are angels! If you like it, go for it!

I've made the move to acute pysch this year. I really enjoy it, and funnily enough find my med surg skills are still getting a work out.

I had a patient who was showing the signs of pyschosis however very atypical presentation. Also had severe COPD. Becoming unwell despite still taking the meds, wondered whether the patient may not be absorbing the meds due to the end stage disease. We decided to get the patients meds changed to subcut route, and lo and behold the patient's symptoms resolved.

Do what you find rewarding, who gives a *** what other people think as long as you enjoy what you are doing