Who should run a psych unit?

[Kungfuzed]

This is a basic question I have been wondering about ever since I started working in a mental hospital. I thought the answer would reveal itself over time but I still find myself asking why nurses run the mental hospital instead of people with psych degrees. It seems counterintuitive to take someone with an ADN and put them in charge of a psych unit with Recovery Specialists who have their BS in psych who know way more about what is going on. In my opinion, the person in charge should be a psych professional with nursing there to support medical needs and administer medications. The same goes for management, the whole thing is run by nurses all the way up to the CEO. Sure there are plenty of Psychiatrists coming and going, stopping on the unit briefly to write orders and going to team meetings, but they are usually contracted out and only making decisions on individual patients. The amount of knowledge about crowd control, enforcing rules, and making quick decisions on what patients should and should not be allowed to do go way beyond what nurses are trained to do.

[Anonymous1257]

The simple answer is patient care. An ADN RN receives far more training in taking care of a psych patient's needs than someone with a bachelors in psychology. Psychology bachelors do not prepare individuals to care for psychiatric patients.

making quick decisions

This is EXACTLY what nurses are trained to do...

knowledge about crowd control, enforcing rules

How does an undergraduate degree in psychology better prepare you for these things relative to a nursing education? I recommend looking into nursing coursework before attempting to make claims like these.

Psychiatric clinicians are the ones guiding the overall course of therapy, I don't think you're giving due credit to their influence over a patient's treatment. They are the ones "in charge" of patient treatment. Nurses are "in charge" of day to day patient care. A bachelors in psychology qualifies an individual for neither of these responsibilities.

As to the CEO of your company being a nurse, this varies and I'd be willing to bet this person holds at least an MSN. MSN prepared nurses have undergone education and training involving a heavy emphasis on leadership and management. This also is entirely corporation specific, the CEO of my hospital is a clinical therapist.

[elkpark]

A baccalaureate degree in psychology really does not prepare people for anything other than entering a graduate program in psychology. It certainly does not prepare anyone to run an acute psychiatric unit or to function independently as a clinician (as evidenced by the fact that most psychiatric units hire people with BAs/BSs in psychology to work as techs, which I'm guessing is what a "Recovery Specialist" is). What knowledge or experience do you have about the education RNs receive in psychiatric nursing? As already noted, in inpatient psychiatric settings, Registered Nurses are responsible for milieu management and direct nursing care, and other mental health professionals (typically educated at a graduate level) provide the individual and group psychotherapy. Psychiatrists and mental health NPs provide the medical treatment (including psychotropic medication). Most facilities use an "interdisciplinary team" approach.

[pixiestudent2]

Why do you think a person with an undergraduate psychology degree is qualified to run a unit...?

They graduate with zero clinical experience...

You honestly can't do much with just psych degree, except go to grad school.

[Jmira.BSN.RN]

I'd love to see someone with a bachelors in psychology and zero clinical experience step on and run a unit of acute patients in psychiatric crisis, all just informed of their 14 day holds. What a circus that would be!

[Safety Coach RN]

1. The RN can take and carry out orders from a physician.

Oh, no need to go further.

[JustKeepDriving]

I have both a BA in psychology and a BSN. My BA in psychology gave me a great background in psychosocial theory, development and the DSM. The BSN however gave me way more skills (BA in psych does not teach assessment, it does not teach you counseling or verbal deescalation techniques and it does not teach interventions or even basic psychopharmacology). Although I really feel like my BA in psych helps me out a lot in my job as a psychiatric nurse - I would be useless on the floor if all I had was an education based on theory and no way to practically apply that knowledge.

[PG2018]

Interesting remarks. One of early majors way back was psychology, and if I had taken experiment and research I would've had a BS in it. I ended up with a BS in something else. Ten years later I went back for a BSN. Over the years I remember end some things from history, physio, comparative, a modicum of learning and cognition, and abnormal. My favorite class was actually social psychology, and I just read a book on Kindle covering soc psych last month as a nice refresher.

I actually don't recall much of it from undergradbut I find it interesting. I've been perusing the local state uni site for graduate courses in psychology. I'll finish my psych NP MSN next month, and they have a research oriented psychology program that I find appealing.

[shanon0403]

I think the therapist should run the units, or a separate unit coordinator. Psychiatrists are too busy and the mental health workers are not qualified.

Nurses aren't well trained in assessment unless they have a masters or more.

[pixiestudent2]

I think the therapist should run the units, or a separate unit coordinator. Psychiatrists are too busy and the mental health workers are not qualified.

Nurses aren't well trained in assessment unless they have a masters or more.

Assessment is the first step of the nursing process.....