I am a new psych rn (2 months now) but I have been a nurse for 5+ years total. I am looking for some basic info on psych nursing. In my training, I was taught all about how to do the paperwork, meds, assessments and admissions/discharges, but very little on how to interact with the patients. I know the expectation is that I can sub in for a counselor if needed, but I am having a hard time figuring out how to be helpful to the patients in that role. I found some amazing info on treating a patient with borderline personality disorder, but that is a small percent of our unit population. I specifically work with adolescents, but I do float to all units in our behavioral health hospital. I am looking for some "guidelines" of what to start with for any/all patients, knowing that individuals will need more specifics at some point. For instance, for BPD, it was said to focus on the present and future and not the past problems. I hope this makes sense, I just am looking for a solid starting point. Thanks!
