To accept or not accept offer?

as a rule I generally encourage new grads to accept any nursing job they get offered; but there are exceptions, and your description of that specific job environment and responsibilities sounds like a red flag. Particularly in light of the fact that you are a new grad with no formal nursing experience. With no experienced RNs to work alongside and glean from, I would be concerned at how effective you would develop your skills and build your knowledge base. The employer sounds desperate and it sounds like a license risk. I would proceed with caution.

-theRNJedi

That sounds like a disaster in the making...

New grads almost never start off in a PRN position. Usually, FT hours are needed in order to hone and master those RN skills, and they should never start off as charge. And four shifts of orientation?

There are just so many red flags, but if that is all you are being offered, you may want to take it. But...I don't know.

I have been working psych in Texas (started in psych as a new grad). 1:16 nurse to patient ratio is not unheard of, but with that kind of ratio more techs are working the unit to make it manageable. Think about it, in the mental health community if there is a code/aggressive patient it throws off the balance of the whole unit. A code would be difficult for two staff members to manage, add in managing the cascading effect and it is impossible for two people to manage. For your safety (and your license), I would not put myself in that position as a new grad. There are many other psych facilities you can apply to that require new grads to work alongside an experienced nurse for at least 4-6 months before managing a unit alone. Good luck!

Do the orientation and see how it flows.

This sounds like a recipe for disaster. Let's be honest here, you're a new grad, and no offense, but you're pretty much clueless because you don't learn how to take care of 16 patients in nursing school. This sounds similar to my first job offer, LTC assignment, nurse to patient ratio was 26-1 and they wanted me to be the supervisor because I was the only employee with an RN degree. I immediately said no to the supervisor part. Clearly I don't know what I'm doing so I'm definitely not telling anyone else what to do. I accepted the job because I needed a starting point and then I happily left 2 months later. Very unsafe environment for everyone involved.

Let us know what you decide!

Are there other psych units at that hospital that will have RNs you could consult with? What I can share just anecdotally is the three patients who passed away on units where I worked all died on night shift. We also had 2 babies born overnight.

Oh my, three?? What are the chances of that happening! Your nights were anything but a bore. I definitely wouldn't know what I would do if that were to happen to me, with possibly only 1 RN on other floors as well. I could see myself working in L&D though if psych doesn't work out Thanks for the feedback!