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Discussion

WOW!!!!!!!!!

okay so today ended my 2 day pysch rotation and i was assigned to the adolescent side of the psych ward.

so there were only 5 patients and 3 were 8, 10, 11, and it broke my heart to hear this one child speak

of why she was admitted. i had to excuse myself and go the the bathroom and cried! one boy came to me

and told me, "i want my mommy", and again hear comes the watery eyes. Pych nurse is what i would like to pursue once i finish nursing school but how do you hide the emotions. i know you are not suppose to hug these children but one boy came up to me and gave me a hug so i just patted him on the back. it was so emotionally draining today.

can someone please tell me how they have dealt with this and does it come with expierence?

the last thing i want to do is become callous!

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  • Author

sorry for the way it posted...dont know why it did that...and i meant to spell here

  • Experts

You only get two days of psych clinical?? What kind of nursing program are you in?

Perhaps more nursing experience in general will help you over time with being more objective and therapeutic with clients, and you won't be so overwhelmed by your own emotions. (Gee, maybe more psych clinical would help ... :)) To some extent, it is a learned skill. Child/adolescent psych can be particularly emotionally challenging -- when people ask me about the difference between adult psych and child psych, one of the points I always make is that "the 'highs' are higher, but the 'lows' are lower." You can have extremely rewarding and happy experiences with kids, but it can also be a lot more emotionally draining than many people expect (or can deal with). There are good reasons why these kids are in inpatient psychiatric units, and many (most?) of them have really gut-wrenching, heartbreaking stories.

I agree..2 days is not nearly enough, but I am hearing this more and more from nursing students. Their programs are obsessed with Med/Surg and specialty clinicals, especially non-medical ones are shortened.

Your school did a disservice to you..2 days is enough to hear heartbreaking stories and reports and not much else. The stories are hard to hear, but as a psych nurse you can intervene, help them develop coping strategies, listen and therapeutically communicate, etc. If you are still interested in psych maybe see if there are positions available for Mental Health/Psych Techs?

Good luck in the remainder of your program!

My school did not have a psych rotation at all...though we did have a LTC rotation that had a heavy geropsych focus.

Yeah, you have to separate their history with their current behavior. We do side hugs only when asked. These abused kids need lots of structure. Many of them have had multiple placements and know the system. You can have compassion for them but not take their pain onto yourself. Being proactive and teaching them how to cope with the day to day is enough of a challenge.

It is hard and the stories are horrific but you'll get used to hearing them and will be able to "leave them at the door" like any other type of nursing once you get grounded.

Good luck!

Well, 25 + years ago when I went thru school, we only had 2 days of psych in clinical..........so looks like not much has changed ...yikes !!

I went in to psych some 4 yrs ago and was thrown to the wolves on the adolescent unit..........oh my......I agree that it is heart wrenching, and dealing with the parents is the real challenge....they are sometimes in more need of help than their children....

You cannot dwell on their past and history....you must concentrate on what you can do at the present time to help them to learn coping skills ....along with the therapists, dr's, etc....this can be done........

( this print looks strange to me, ????) don't know what that is all about....

  • Experts

Wow. When I attended a hospital diploma program some 25 years ago, our psych rotation was four (8 hr) days a week for 3 months, and we did everything the staff nurses did (including giving IM injections to combative clients in seclusion rooms!)

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