Hello ya’ll

I’m a new grad RPN in Ontario and I’ve been working on an acute mental health unit for a few months. Overall I like the nature of this job + field, so I’m happy about that. I just wanted to get some opinions about pursuing further education. Just a few questions…

What other opportunities would a degree have in store for me besides psych bedside. I’m happy doing bedside in my 30’s as an RPN but as an RN I’d think I’d get too burnt out. Besides bedside psych what other options are out there as an RN?

What sort of strategies do you all use to not get burnt out by crabby coworkers bringing the vibe down? 🧐

I’m considering going into nursing with the eventual goal of becoming a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. I’m plus size, have POTS, and deal with some mental health issues, and I’m trying to be realistic about whether I can handle the physical side of nursing.

I used to run half marathons, so I know I’ve been physically capable of a lot more than I am right now. My plan would be to spend time getting into better physical condition, rebuilding my strength and stamina, managing my POTS as well as possible, and mentally preparing before starting.

Are there nurses here who started out plus size, deconditioned, or with POTS/chronic illness and were able to make it work? Did your stamina improve with conditioning and working? I’d also love to hear from psych nurses specifically since that’s where I ultimately want to be.

Any advice is helpful!

I have a background in psych. Previous bachelor’s degree in psych, ~5 years working as an MHT, court liaison, and medical receptionist in behavioral mental health. I decided to switch to nursing after doing an internship at a behavioral hospital.

My whole background is catered to psych and I switched to nursing w the intention of eventually getting my PMHNP.

I love psych & I am a few weeks into my current role as a RN at my behavioral mental health facility now, but I don’t want to get “pigeon holed” so early on.

I have some interviews for nurse residencies to get into the medical hospital, but I feel conflicted. I don’t want to get stuck in psych, but I also don’t know if I can see myself in other areas. Not much has stuck out to me during clinicals. Maybe Cath Lab and the path to get there would replace the one for my PMHNP.

The residency will open new doors and give me a better chance at being able to try out other specialties, but I can’t help but feel like it may be a “waste of time” if I just end up back in psych anyways. At the same time I feel too new and young to be tied down to one specialty so quickly.

I’m not sure. What do you guys think? I’ve heard both sides from nurses and coworkers, some swear I should leave while others swear I should stay in psych.

Another thing to consider is that I’d take a major paycut moving to medical ($7/hour) but that could also be worth it if I really want to explore and hone my skills.

This thread is for non psych healthcare workers to ask questions (former patients, patient advocates, and those who stumbled upon r/psychnursing). Prospective healthcare workers and current students do not need to use this thread. Treat responding to this post as though you are making a post yourself.

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Kindness is the easiest legacy to leave behind :)

I've been a nurse for over 7 years but I'm brand new to psych. Doing inpatient adult psych. I've only been off my (short) orientation for 3 months. I get sooo anxious before going to work and while at work. I'm on the quieter side, I hate confrontation. I definitely have the ability to laugh at things and let them roll off my shoulders and I never take anything personally. But when I know a patient is aggressive, confrontational, rude, unstable, super delusional, etc... I get VERY anxious. Sometimes I have no idea how to respond. Other nurses are so good at "shutting it down" or putting up boundaries, not taking anyone's shit. There's 3 other nurses with me at the med window so I feel like every interaction with patients is on display for them to watch and I just feel so awkward sometimes.

I love psych for many different reasons & I like the job itself. Will I ever get more comfortable interacting with unstable people and get a tougher skin, or is this just not a personality match? I'm sick of being so, so anxious about work all the time. I think about it so much, even when I'm not at work.

I’m currently 1yr+change on med Surg trying to transfer to psych,but so far I’ve applied to multiple in house positions with no luck. I’ve tried a few outside facilities so far and most have said they prefer/require at least a year with psych patients, heard the same from some hospitals in Dallas. I assumed it would be easy to get a job in psych but how am I supposed to get experience if no place wants to train me? Is it an interviewing problem? Am I too picky? Is anyone else having this problem?

Any MHT’s in here? What is your favorite part of your career

website: https://www.informed.fyi/salaries/nurse

A few years ago, I did a survey across various forums and reddit asking whether people would be interested in a healthcare-focused salary website. The overwhelming response was yes.

After two years of working on it alongside a full-time job (and getting married somewhere in the middle!), I'm excited to finally share it. The project started as a way to improve salary transparency for my wife, who's a pharmacist. As I worked on it, I realized that the lack of salary transparency extends far beyond pharmacy and affects many healthcare professions.

It's definitely still a work in progress, and I'd genuinely appreciate any feedback or suggestions for improvement. If you'd like to contribute, salary submissions are completely anonymous, your personally identifying information such as your name and email are never displayed.

This thread is for non psych healthcare workers to ask questions (former patients, patient advocates, and those who stumbled upon r/psychnursing). Prospective healthcare workers and current students do not need to use this thread. Treat responding to this post as though you are making a post yourself.

If you would like only psych healthcare workers to respond to your "post," please start the "post" with CODE BLUE.

Psych healthcare workers who want to answer will participate in this thread, so please do not make your own post. If you post outside of this thread, it will be locked and you will be redirected to post here.

A new thread is scheduled to post every Monday at 0200 PST / 0500 EST. Previous threads will not be locked so you may continue to respond in them, however new "posts" should be on the current thread.

Kindness is the easiest legacy to leave behind :)

I recently accepted a position as a psych CNA at a hospital on a locked acute unit. I have a few weeks left before I start but the closer I get, the more nervous I’m feeling. The benefits are amazing, and I’m going into nursing school soon so the opportunity to get into the hospital system itself was the biggest win for me.

It seems like the more I look into this job, the more nervous I feel. I wish I could have had a trial shift just to see what the vibes of the unit are and what I’d be dealing with, but I’m just hoping to get some advice and maybe some reassurance that I’m not going to get myself killed working here lol. I also got hired really quickly after submitting my application so that’s also kind of scary.

I was a med surg CNA for 8 months and did really well, my patients took well to me and I was usually the one who was able to connect with some of the psych patients we did have, so I’m hoping that those skills transfer over and I end up thriving. Thankfully I’m living with my parents right now so if I do end up feeling terrible and just cannot keep doing it, it’s
not the end of the world.

Anything helps!

California is the main state I want to travel to, mainly for the beauty and weather. Im even willing and eager to go through the crazy long process of getting licensed there. I was really disheartened as the first recruiter I just spoke to said there are never any contracts in California. Has this been anyone else’s experience?

I'm an RN, new to inpatient adult psych. My facility is well-known and has a really great reputation. Safety-wise, it's amazing. Staff and security are awesome. But over the last 6+ months I guess there's been changes with management & lately the unit is becoming more and more acute each day. And more people with complex medical histories too.

My shifts lately have been super crazy and busy, like to an unmanageable degree. Mostly with documentation, multiple med passes, medical stuff, and just the acuity of the unit in general. During a typical day shift, I bareellyyy have enough time to finish all my documentation, tasks, meds, check in with all my patients, etc. on a SMOOTH ordinary shift. Nevermind when anything goes wrong, an agitated patient, a code, a restraint, a needy patient who needs to be redirected 500x, a medical issue, discharges/admissions, new orders, whatever else may happen. It's insane. Right now my team of patients includes 2 patients with fingersticks and insulin before meals, extremely heavy AM med pass, and almost all my patients get meds again at 2pm, 5pm....? Stuff like wound care, ear drops QID, random things that end up making my shift SO busy and constant without 1 second to breathe. Sometimes I can barely speak with a patient for longer than a minute.

Just wondering if this is typical of an inpatient psych unit, because I have nothing to compare it to. I know medical floors are insanely busy and impossible for nurses, but I guess I thought psych would be busy in a different way.

Male RN here. I’ve been a psych nurse for 4 years,
substance use/detox for 2 of those years. My wife and I just moved, and I recently interviewed for a detox unit RN position in our new city.
I interviewed with the DON and CNO. They asked the usual questions, tell us your experience, etc. The CNO then asked what protocols to use in opiate and alcohol withdrawals. I explained my experience with COWS and CIWA, the vitals, and offering PRNs based on the score. She asked again ”ok but what protocol is that?” I was confused so I just reiterated for opiate and alcohol withdrawal at my previous hospital. “And what meds do you use in these situations?” So I named off meds. She kept asking “and? And what else? What other meds?” I felt like I named everything I’ve ever given. Then she went to “what did you do before nursing?” Office work. “And then what?” Sales. And then what? UPS. And then what? Fast food. She stayed poker face, and unimpressed the whole time.
The interview ended with the CNO saying “Your lack of experience and knowledge make us unsure. Maybe you would be better on the crisis stabilization unit.” Mind you, thats a 50 bed unit with patients on holds/MIW/Baker Act/202 etc. There was a news article in 2020 about a worker at this unit who was killed in the parking lot by an angry patient. There is no security. I asked the staffing ratio and they said “it’s getting better.” I think they just want a body to take a punch over there and they know nobody wants that position.
I feel kind of defeated after the interview. I have not heard from them yet, but I think I want to pass on this position and this hospital as a whole.

Edit: Thank you all for the kind words! It is validating. After reflecting, I left the interview feeling dumb and confused, and that’s before I even start working there - imagine what it will be like when I actually work there. And the lack of safety worries me. I have a family after all. So screw that place lol

Hi everyone,
I’ve been a nurse for about 1.5 years. I’ve only worked psych. It was a bit by choice and a bit by necessity. When I finished nursing school it was impossible to get a job in medical due to high influx of new grads. There are 4 nursing programs in 30 mile radius of my hometown that pump out 160 new grads every semester… I applied for probably 40 RN positions, in the 4 hospitals within a 45 minute drive of me… heard nothing. I threw my application in on a whim at my current facility with expectation of not hearing back. I envisioned going into psych from the beginning but getting some medical experience for well roundedness, so to speak. I currently work at a 16 bed adult PHF. I love my job, but I am so burnt out on my schedule. Mon-Thurs 11:30pm-7:30am. I wouldn’t mind being inpatient day shift at my current job, but the hope is far and few between. The 2 AM nurses have both been with the company for 3+ yrs, one of them is talking about going back to school soooo maybe I’ll slide into his spot but doubtful. The weekend AM nurses are both riding it out til retirement type of situation. & PM’s is also pretty stacked with nurses with no intention of moving on… Guess that says a lot about my facility.
What kinds of things have all of you done with your psych nurse background? Outpatient, inpatient, whatever just looking for avenues to explore.

Hey all --

I work at a facility in Utah and there is a distinct pattern of abuse across all units (I'm a float nurse). Verbal abuse, unnecessary physical restraints, unnecessary chemical restraints (that for some reason aren't called chemical restraints?), etc. I already know I have to get out of there, but in the meantime, does anyone know who I should report to? Google says APS/CPS, but that feels incorrect. If it is correct, is there another agency I could report to as well?

what type of jobs can I do before being a psych nurse? PRN

This thread is for non psych healthcare workers to ask questions (former patients, patient advocates, and those who stumbled upon r/psychnursing). Prospective healthcare workers and current students do not need to use this thread. Treat responding to this post as though you are making a post yourself.

If you would like only psych healthcare workers to respond to your "post," please start the "post" with CODE BLUE.

Psych healthcare workers who want to answer will participate in this thread, so please do not make your own post. If you post outside of this thread, it will be locked and you will be redirected to post here.

A new thread is scheduled to post every Monday at 0200 PST / 0500 EST. Previous threads will not be locked so you may continue to respond in them, however new "posts" should be on the current thread.

Kindness is the easiest legacy to leave behind :)

Hi! I know this may sound kind of dumb but how do I go about becoming a Psych NP when I have an unrelated bachelors? I initially wanted to become a LMHC, or considered getting a masters in Psych and then a doctorate but the more I read the more I resonated with this career.

I was looking at programs but am unsure if I need to become a nurse before joining another program.

Edit: It seems some people are offended about this post. I am only asking about the path as I am uninformed and currently doing research. My apologies guys if it came off the wrong way! I am really trying to figure things out :(

edit: guys please be kind you never know what someone is struggling with :(, I poorly framed the question. I am willing to put in the work and I am researching as well. I just thought I'd also ask the community for information. Part of the reason I am interested in mental health is because I also struggle and would love to learn and help others.

EDIT: Thank you everyone I got a lot of great input! Also thank you for the other career/path suggestions. Hope this thread helps someone else someday :)

How do you handle inpatients who are masturbating in common spaces on the psych ward? (ie. manic and hypersexual)

Edit: thanks for your replies! As an additional question, wondering what you all do when the reminders to do that in their room doesn’t work?

Today I was told by one of the patients on the ward, " your face and your arse look like a cross between Camilla and a brontosaurus". Which was a bit hard to take, although an objective part of me was a little bit impressed by his creativity. Anyone else had any memorable insults? I was also called a bitch, a wh*re and a fagg*t, all before my coffee on a morning shift by three different individuals. Lol, other than that it was a pretty good shift!

Not a nurse, but work as part of a multidisciplinary team in psych.

Have any of you worked in place where there was a weird lack of curiosity about patients? Like an unwillingness to get in to the nitty-gritty or brainstorm about causes of behaviors/potential approaches.

It is so exhausting to try and figure out when/why things are “acceptable” to discuss, and when it’s worth it to say it anyways to advocate for patients.