What do you love about Psych?

[Alex_RN, BSN]

Psych is my least favorite area of nursing. Working in med-surg and telemetry, I was surprised to learn that I get psych patients all the time. Psych patients get sick, too, just like the general population, or they have decompensated so much that they need medical care.

Why I don't like psych: It seems like my work is temporary and they will relapse quickly. Due to patient's rights (which I agree with) you cannot force care unless it is the most dire circumstances, so often (very often), my psych patients refuse much needed treatment. Usually psych patients are not partnering with us for their care, so everything is a battle. My MDs are good competent doctors but I can see that they lose interest in psych patients, especially those on court ordered short-term holds. Even the psychiatrists seem uninvested in psych patients who are refusing care. I think we are all tired of the futility of it. The patient's quality of life seems very low and I cannot do anything to help.

We all work hard to get our psych patients medically stable so we can transfer them to the psych unit. Those RNs seem to love their work. I would love to hear their point of view.

[Sour Lemon]

I think I enjoy my patients' creativity the most ...and their willingness to talk about absolutely anything. Most of them have interesting lives and fairly unique views of the world.

Psych patients are fairly frustrating in a med/surg setting, though. I agree with you on that one. There's no time for extended conversation and they rarely seem willing to do what needs to be done to improve their health.

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

I love making a connection with people who are different. I especially enjoy psychotic adults. It is very satisfying to help people bridge their private reality to the one we all share.

My patients have unique perspectives on love, friendship, God, life's meaning. I enjoy learning from them. Many of my patients are deeply philosophical. I encourage them to explore their ideas safely. I teach them how to test their ideas objectively.

Its deeply rewarding.

[nina12345]

I find great pride in helping a undeserved population. The work is very meaningful and mental health is vastly under treated

[pixierose, BSN, RN]

I find some of the strongest people in the psych world, especially children.

I think that, once you're at the bottom (and the only way to go is up), patients see and hold on to such unique views. I find it beautiful, and an inspiration to my own mental health journey. I once had a patient break into a smile just by seeing a sunset - in her words, she "made it through another day." I take sunsets for granted; I don't even notice them half the time, but the next day I sure did.

And for those truly psychotic patients, I find their view fascinating. Heartbreaking at times, frustrating definitely. But it's a wonder at what the mind interprets. So while my contribution is temporary, it happens again and again. I helped contribute to that patient progress just enough to function back in society, albeit temporarily.

I find it enjoyable to make that connection like FolksBTrippin said. When someone's grasp on reality is tenuous but you made them smile? It means something. Sometimes it takes so little to make that connection, just a 5 minute conversation. So many people are afraid of those with mental illness. I get it, but I wish people wouldn't.

[Heylove, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

My coworkers.

[Laurean]

I have worked in psych for over 20 years. I love it for several reasons. I got into it due to my own mothers illness, she had a history of paranoid schizophrenia and as a child of a patient it was hard to have a relationship with her or have any kind of stability growing up. Working in the field has been helpful for me to understand why she did what she did. Working with these patients and my own personal experience has given me the opportunity to be able to fully understand my patients and be genuine with them. When you are genuine with them they will trust you, remember that you were the one who helped them even when they were saying ugly things. Because I am able to genuine and able to not have fear in my job, BUT, it makes it VERY DIFFICULT for me to work like on a medical floor or with the general population. Why? Because sometimes the truth hurts and surprisingly enough a lot of people do not want the truth. I also get to be a strong advocate and am involved in the community to help change the stigma surrounding mental health. Most people who get involved like myself have someone close that has touched them and changed their path towards mental health. Yeah you could call it transference/countertransference, I just call it having the back door open and able to help someone with this pain, simply because I wasn't able to help Mother. I witnessed how the general population treated her. So yeah, I have a lot of insight. I apologize for the length, but it's more than a job for me.

[nina12345]

I like it because there is great satisfaction on providing the best care you care to an undeserved population. I like being there for clients that need strong advocates. I feel that I am a better nurse for working with this population because it teaches you how to help people in crisis and how to meet their needs despite the barriers they face which are a long list that includes homelessness, substance use, personal losses, financial barriers, stigma,etc. Although I'm not big into passing medications all day, its more than that. I make sure my clients are getting all their needs met including ensuring they are getting connected to the resources they need by making the interdisciplinary team aware of these needs and constantly advocating for my clients and reminding my coworkers. It's a challenging but rewarding job when you know you helped someone no matter how small.