Ask me about working in a psychiatric hospital

[jackflashdrive]

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I'm fascinated by this thread as well:drinking on the job stories/people trying/killing themselves would interest me.

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Strangely, I don't really have any stories of people trying to kill themselves on the unit while I was working. The thing about depression is that depressed people often have very little energy -- not really enough to go through with the act of trying to kill themselves (this is why some anti-depressants have been linked to suicide -- because it gives people the energy to go through with their desires without changing the underlying cognitions).

One patient did manage to kill himself at my facility when I was not working. He took a bedsheet and tied it to the door handle of his room. He ran the sheet over the top of the door and from the other side of the door tied a noose and hung himself.

One patient died in restraints/seclusion (this happened a few months before I started working there). She was restrained at night and when the morning shift showed up they found her dead. The nurse was fired and the patients family sued, because autopsy revealed she had been dead for a few hours and when a patient is in restraints a nurse is supposed to take vital signs every 15 minutes.

I saw a few really scary attempts by people to kill themselves. One woman had half her face missing because she shot herself in the head but was not successful at killing herself.

One woman had jumped from a moving car at 70 miles per hour and had road rash all over her face. Nurses were impressed because she jumped face first and had the discipline not to instinctively raise her hands up for protection (no road rash on hands).

[jackflashdrive]

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What state did you work in and what were the criteria for involuntary admission? <font color="blue">I worked in FL and you had to be homicidal, suicidal, or pyschotic to be admitted involuntarily</font>
(other qestions to follow)

Have you ever heard of or read The Journal of Polymorophous Perversity? (if not I highly recommend it- There is a book based on past magazine issues, I think the mag comes out quarterly, I can't recommend this enough for anyone considering entering the field) <font color="blue">I haven't seen it but I'll take a look based on your rec</font>

What % of the people do you think lied about having a plan to kill themselves in order to get admitted because they were very stressed/confused/etc but did not want to or would not acutally kill themselves? <font color="blue">At my first facility about a third of the patients at any given time were just homeless people looking for a bed and a meal and had no intention of killing themselves at all. Among patients who were admitted for suicidal ideation but who were not the homeless just described, I'd say about 10 to 20 percent were actually at risk to kill themselves if not locked up</font>

Have you ever read anything by Harry Stack Sullivan and/or Thomas Szasz and what did you think of their works? <font color="blue"> I read Thomas Szasz's book about 10 years ago. From what I remember it was a provactive book and had some valid criticism but a lot of those criticisms are irreleavnt today because as I remember he was reacting against the field of psychiatry when it had more to do wtih Freud.</font>

Are you familiar with Dr. Daniel Fisher and what do you make of him, what are your thoughts on him and his works? (again highly recommended if you plan to enter this field) <font color="blue">No I am not familiar with his work</font>

Did you ever catch 2 patients having sex, if so what did you do? And if so did the dude approach you later and complain to you in a man to man (rather than biotch you out as a psychotic patient) fashion the way a buddy would if you walked in on him and ruined it for him? <font color="blue"> I haven't personally caught two patients having sex though I have intercepted plenty of kids trying to get into other rooms. Some adults had been caught having sex and I don't really think they would speak man to man or if they did that it would matter </font>

What is the largest item a patent ever swallowed pre or post admission that you are aware of? <font color="blue">I can't recall anyone ever swalling anything large pre or post admission</font>

What was the most extreme case of self mutilization you were aware of either pre or post admission? <font color="blue">There were plenty of girls with borderline personality disorder who would pick at their faces till they were bloody. Plenty of girls with surface scratches all over their wrists. The schizophrenic "D" that I spoke of earlier (while not really being a case of self-mutilation in the way you mean I think) was pretty severe. She'd always be raising her shirt to show you the scar which was pretty hideous</font>

Do you think any of the fat nurses there looked for opportunities to flirt with and or cop a feel/examine the neather reagons of a male patient there, or somehow or other exploit their position to do so (assuming the male patient would cooperate)? <font color="blue">Er, I don't think women generally think this way and I can't imagine any of the fat nurses doing this</font>

Did any nurses get busted for grabbing the benzo's prescribed for patients? <font color="blue">The nurses had to do a drug count every shift so the nurses couldn't really steal the highly desirable meds. The ativan, though, was in a big jar that you would stick a syringe into, so that could be stolen and I believe nurses were probably stealing it. </font>

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[jackflashdrive]

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Tell us about drinking on the job.

Also, have you ever yelled at someone or became physically violent towards a patient?

How much money did you make?

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I never yelled at someone or became violent. I knew one tech who seemed to get into a lot of altercations with patients when alone with them and I think he probably provoked the fights.

I think I made about 10 bucks an hour but it's funny I'm not really sure how much I made. I never really worked for the money.

[jackflashdrive]

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How do "normal" people react when you tell them these stories? Are there crazy chicks that find all this attractive?

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I try to stay away from crazy chicks nowadays. The stories go over really well with most people. The story that gets the best reaction is probably the "Memento Guy" story that I refered to in my first post. I generally say a lot more about him so I can elaborate if anyone is interested.

[kurosh]

Memento Guy sounds like he is in a living hell.

[DING-DONG YO]

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Memento Guy sounds like he is in a living hell.

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srsly, I got a lump in my throat when reading about when he looked in the mirror.

[CaryDarling]

Mental illness can have a devastating effect on families. Both my older and younger brother are diagnosed schizophrenics, my mother was diagnosed as bi-polar, I personally suffer from bi-polar and anxiety disorder, but pretty much live a functional life.

However my mother took her own life March of 2003 after many years of threatening to do so.

My younger brother has been in a state hospital for over a year, my older brother has periods of his life when he manages his illness, only to go off meds after about 4-5 years and lose everything he's built up.

Great thread, my family has had to deal with psych techs, and psych nurses for over 20 years now, and I know it's a tough job, but you have confirmed some some beliefs I have about some of the people working these jobs.

I realize it's a tough job, but I do believe that in some cases, these people, along with the environment, do more harm than good.

Don't wanna sound like this is a troll, far from it. This is a very interesting thread, and thanks for sharing your experiences with us.

[jackflashdrive]

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Don't wanna sound like this is a troll, far from it. This is a very interesting thread, and thanks for sharing your experiences with us.

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Not even close to a troll. Thanks for your reaction and feel free to contribute anything else that you like (this goes for everyone of course but especially people who have experienced the mental illness of themelves or a loved one first hand).

[suzzer99]

So if someone starts exhibiting signs of schizophrenia, there's basically nothing you can do? IE - no benefit to catching it early, etc.? I was under the impression that with drugs a lot of them could live normal lives, but I guess that's more like a 10% minority?

[schundler]

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How do "normal" people react when you tell them these stories? Are there crazy chicks that find all this attractive?

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I try to stay away from crazy chicks nowadays. The stories go over really well with most people. The story that gets the best reaction is probably the "Memento Guy" story that I refered to in my first post. I generally say a lot more about him so I can elaborate if anyone is interested.

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Yeah, please elaborate