Well, I have officially survived my psych rotation! It was an interesting experience to work with these people and a real challenge for me.As I stated in my last post... I held a lot of stereotypes towards people with mental illnesses. Though some may have proven to be true, most of them were cleared by the people that I worked with.
Three things I did not like about my experience in psych:
1. Even though we were there for a period of 5 weeks we saw multiple patients come and go. It was like a revolving door. A patient would leave on week and be right back in the unit the next week. It was very discouraging to see the same patients having the same struggles.
2. It was heartbreaking to see the little kids with such sad a sad history. I mean, how can your heart not go out to the 6 year old who tried to commit suicide? I personally was at a loss for what to do to help any of them. I really felt like I wanted to comfort them give them a big hug and tell them it will all be okay--which is exactly what you are not supposed to do.
3. When a patient tells you they hear voices that tell them to carry out suicidal/homicidal actions. There is nothing thus far that compares to the shock of someone telling you about voices that are commanding them to do something. Especially my first few days, it was really hard to get past that "what the heck do I say to that" phase.
Despite my discomfort level the first few days, I really began to enjoy myself by the end. Once you get past your first few interviews communicating with the really sick patients gets a heck of a lot easier. I feel like my communication skills have drastically improved and I am comfortable sitting down and talking to anyone--even if they are not completely connected with reality.
I really enjoyed getting to help most of the patients. This clinical really challenged my communication skills. I had to learn to discover things about the patient's mind rather than only what I can see. It was a great class, but I don't think I have a future as a psychiatric nurse.
Only 9 months left of school! I can't wait!
