Psych Rotation

With my psych rotation finished I feel like I should post a summary of my experience. I've been putting in off for a few days ... It's hard to put the whole experience into words. The best way to say it is that it was emotional. I went into it thinking I could "fake" my way through it.. You know, go through the necessary motions and write the necessary papers without getting pulled into the situations emotionally. I was very wrong.

I found it nearly impossible to not feel for the patients on a very personal level. I was challenged to move out of my comfort zone and grew because of it. I saw poor, homeless people, and the son of a physician... Mental illness knows no boundaries.

Interestingly enough, I subconsciously chose female patients throughout the rotation. Then, on my last clinical week, the pregnant female patient I had hand-picked and cared for on day #1 was discharged on day #2. And, the only new patient for me to pick up was a male patient - a big, burly, scary-looking truck driver who was brought into the ward by police officers at 3am the night before.

I was very uncomfortable. I attempted to approach him about 3 different times before I was able to summon enough courage to sit down and speak to him. I actually have my son to thank for helping me: he taught me a card trick and I used this simple trick to "break the ice" and build some rapport with him. He laughed at the trick and we talked.

In the end he actually opened up to me and had tears in his eyes. I thank God that he gave me the courage to approach him and the words to comfort him.

This wasn't the only time I left clinicals feeling like I had truly been helpful to one in need, and I am only a student. I can only imagine the fulfillment a psychiatric nurse must be able to have at the end of her career in being able to touch so many lives at such times of need.

But it is not all roses, for sure. There were a few times I actually felt fearful of harm. There were also a few times my eyes filled with tears of anger for the unkind words said to the patients by the very ones who were there to help them.... I'm sure burnout and continuous stress can account for it...But, I had little tolerance for it.

In the end, my experience during my psych rotation is one I am thankful that I had.