Transitioning to psych/mental health nursing

[TravelingGrace]

I’ve been a NICU RN for about 6 years and I’ve reached my time of wanting to try another specialty. I have no experience with adults or any other area of nursing, but I am not discouraged in transitioning.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations on things that I can do to help me secure my first job as a psych RN? 
 

Don’t want to make the post unbearable, so feel free to ask questions. Thanks in advance!

[SarahMaria, MSN, RN]

You could join the APNA (American Psychiatric Nurses Association).  They offer new-to-psych courses for a fee.  There are plenty of CEUs offered, some for free.  

https://www.apna.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1

[appw77]

I went through this earlier this year and can definitely rate. I had known pretty much since nursing school that I wanted to work psych. However, there wasn't a good opportunity to start in psych as a new grad for me, and so I spent my first 2 years in tele/med surg. 

I spent about 2 months sending my applications for psych everywhere. I finally got a back call from a hospital that was willing to hire someone with medical, but not psych, experience. Emphasize that you are willing to learn and that you are excited about a new specialty. Also, I would talk about how you are used to communicating with and managing the families, which is a big part of working psych and I assume you are doing in the NICU. Strong communication skills are essential in psych, in my opinion. 

From what I've seen, there do not seem to be any transition residencies (for experienced RNs who are entering a new specialty) for psych. I received 3 weeks of orientation and then was on my own. I definitely think I could have benefitted from more orientation time, but since that was not an option, I spent time outside of work reading about the diagnoses, the drugs, etc. to fill in the gaps. I enjoy the supplemental learning because I love psych/mental health. Also, having those few good colleagues to always be able to go to for help when you need it is critical. When interviewing, I suggest asking how you will continue to be supported once they decide that you are ready to be off of orientation. 

Some things to keep in mind: you will have a much higher ratio of patients, especially compared to the critical care environment. I currently work at 2 hospitals in psych (both crisis stabilization) and at one of them, we have up to 10 pt's per RN. It took me some time to get used to that. It can get overwhelming at times as you are constantly 'putting out fires' and deescalating situations. At the end of the day though I love it and definitely encourage you to make the switch if that's what you're passionate about. 

Lastly, many of the positions I applied for required having CPI certification. I looked into getting it on my own in order to make myself more 'marketable' but it was expensive. Ultimately, I was able to get it through the first hospital that hired me. Most hospitals require their psych employees to renew it annually so chances are, there will be an opportunity for your to get it through the employer once you're hired. 

Best of luck! 

[Melilem]

Wow that is some change, NICU to psych? I've seen a lot of "new grad" psych jobs, so I'm sure those same facilities would hire you and provide an orientation. They'll be glad to have you.

[pricanlady]

Peace River Center will train you for psych. Bartow, FL.