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Journal 3 - reflection on psych rotation
Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing for Accelerated BSN Students (NURS 360 )
California State University San Marcos
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I enjoyed my clinical experience in this psych rotation. It was unlike anything I expected. When I first set foot on the clinical floor, I felt inadequate because I felt like I did not know what to say to the psych patients. I am more comfortable being on the floor now, and actually enjoy it. I enjoy talking to the patients and learning about their story and history. It was interesting to see how the nurses communicate with their patients and see how their roles were different from a typical medical nurse. At first I was confused about what the psych nurses did, but now I understand the crucial role they play in the patient’s lives and would definitely consider psych as an option for when I graduate. I was able to experience a lot this semester. I was able to work with both young adults and seniors regularly. In addition, I spent one day at Aurora, which was arguably my favorite day. I spent my day at Aurora in the outpatient adolescent program, where we did group therapy. In therapy, we discussed coping strategies for substance abuse, cutting, depression, and suicide. It was interesting to see how group therapy was led and how well the adolescents responded to it. I also got to attend two ECT sessions. I did not know what to expect, and honestly felt queasy after watching. It was interesting to talk to the patients, but overall, I learned that I needed to bring a different mental energy into the unit when working in the psych unit because we deal with heavy topics such as depression and suicide on a regular basis. I still find it challenging to talk about those topics with the patients, but each week I get more comfortable. My experience was similar to what I learned in theory. The topic of Milieu therapy comes to my mind when I think about the theory I applied in clinical. I learned how important it was to foster a therapeutic relationship with the patients through a trusting, nonjudgmental manner (Henry et al., 2016). I tried my best to do so with the patients. Another aspect of theory was the
importance of therapeutic groups in providing support to patients (Henry et al., 2016). I was able to participate in a couple community meetings on the unit. I enjoyed everyone getting together and participating. It brought a sense of joy into the unit. Part of a nurses’ role is to serve as a leader, and the psych nurse in charge of the meetings really stepped up to the plate. I think the thing I will remember most was when we listened to the Youtube video of what a schizophrenic patient hears. Doing that exercise has allowed me to understand what schizophrenic patients go through and have helped me to sympathize with the schizophrenic patients I have communicated with. Overall, my time on the psych unit was a wonderful experience.
Journal 3 - reflection on psych rotation
Course: Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing for Accelerated BSN Students (NURS 360 )
University: California State University San Marcos
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