A Career As A Psychiatric Nurse

Nursing, to some, is a calling, a life direction, an existence encompassed by the drive to help others. Delineated by the demands and harshness of seeing people at their worst and facilitating them to reach their best, nursing is not a vocation for all. Psychiatric nursing, surprisingly, is a field which can be traced back to the middle ages. While an exact timeline is not documented, ancient philosophical thinker, Marcus Tullius Cicero, specially, was the original recognized person to generate a survey for the mentally ill via fact-based data to determine the best sequence of psychological action and treatment. Furthermore, some of the earliest recorded psychiatric treatment facilities were erected in the Middle East throughout the 8th century. …show more content…
Psychiatric nurses also play an influential role in the assessment of patients, in the care in diagnosing patients by gauging their behaviors, signs, and illnesses. Psychiatric nurses are often responsible for reporting any changes to psychiatrists and signifying substitute treatment possibilities. The psychiatric nurse provides detailed management to the patient and the family so that they have a greater ability to not only understand and manage the illness in their family members. Specialized psychiatric nurses may lead therapy sessions and assist patients with maintaining medications and in utilizing behavior management techniques. Furthermore, the psychiatric nurse may assist the patient with their ADLs, such as how to dress, groom and to take their medications properly, with the focus on gaining autonomy and …show more content…
“We are all nurses, but not all nurses are us,” stated K.L. (who requested not to be identified by name). KL has worked as a psychiatric nurse for 15 or her 22 year nursing career. “I have been punched, bit, kicked, spit on, slapped, pinched, my hair pulled, you name it. There’s not a name I haven’t been called at least twice. But, it all is worth it when we help them recover. We give them their life back. We give kids their mom or dad back. A simple, heartfelt ‘thank you’ makes you get up and do it all over again.” KL began her career as a Medical Surgical nurse. She was content, but then treated her first schizophrenic client in acute crisis during a float shift in ER. She had never really experienced anything like that previously. She described herself as being simultaneously terrified and fascinated. She did recognize, though, that no one in the emergency room know how to manage this man in acute crisis. Rather, he was restrained, which intensified his crisis, and heavily sedated. She defines that encounter as a defining moment in her career. She began to research psychiatric nursing and found herself more and more drawn to it. She finally took the plunge and accepted a position in an acute crisis center and has remained in the field of psychiatric nursing since. “In nursing school you are taught to be a patient advocate among all of your other duties. In psychiatric nursing, that is almost a PRIORITY, as they can’t advocate

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