Psych Rotation

I loved psych! I feel that psych is full of interesting diagnosis that truly do impact the personalities we encounter out in the real world. I've always loved it, at one point during my pre reqs days I contemplated minoring in psych so I chose to take psych courses as my free electives. I never proceeded with that plan because schooling for me was already taking too long to finish but if I do ever decide to have a change of heart I have a good amount of class credits towards it.   

I honestly did not know what to expect or what I would be learning. All I could think about was depression, anxiety, bipolar, and some Personality disorders. And even with that little did I know that a personality disorder what not what I thought it was. 

The whole rotation was such a great experience. I honestly learned so much and was exposed to so many things that I didn’t fully understand. The course was so much different compared to the regular med/surg rotation and the disease process. I was very intrigued and this experience will stay with me for the rest of my career, as I am able to see patients from a different perspective. I never thought of it that way but these kind of patients are complex all on its own then to add other health issues on top of whatever else they are dealing with mentally is very challenging.

Clinical at first was definitely intimidating. We had our psych simulation that first week which was meant to give us an idea of the things that might happen while we are there and boy oh boy was I shitting bricks, excuse my french. The clinical units experience for me was so much difficult. For starter I simply didn’t know how to interact with the patients. I didn’t know what to expect, what lines not to cross on term of communication and asking them questions. I just felt out of place. Then as the weeks passed by I started to feel a bit more comfortable and less “shy” to start up conversations with the patients. I’d say more than anything it was frustrating not being able to help them more. Mental health disorders are not just a quick fix with a simple pill and some adjustments. I truly felt for the patients and more often then not I’d imagine myself in their place. Whether it was a depressed patient, or a manic patient, or simply an autistic patient. I can’t imagine a day in their shoes and thanks to this rotation I will be more empathetic to the needs of these patients in the future. More importantly I have learned to be less judgmental.

For my community experience I had to complete seven hours of anonymous meetings. I attended narcotics anonymous, alcoholic anonymous, and eating anonymous. These too were quite the experience and I'll just say that I now have a great appreciation to the groups and the people who find the courage and the dedication to attend and take that step to change their lives. Addiction is not easy, addiction is real and as nurses we need to understand it a little better in order to offer the proper care that those patients require. I also attended day programs and inpatient treatment programs.

My overall psych rotation was phenomenal, the instructors were amazing and very knowledgable, the lectures were always interesting, and as you've already read there was never a dull moment in the clinical setting. I honestly find myself falling in love with nursing even more after each rotation :)