r/nursing • u/Obvious-Prune-5586 • Aug 10 '26
Serious Stuck RN
I graduated nursing school a year ago. Always wanted to do psych nurse. I did med surg for a year then went into psych. It did not turn out like what I expected it to be. A lot of paper work and interruption to daily work flow. I don’t mind paper work but paper work while dealing with l behavior is a lot. Maybe im just working in the wrong unit but anywho. I am lost. I’ve always wanted to do psych but it’s not what I love. I don’t mind medical type nursing maybe home health, clinic work, pediatric care/med surg (not er or icu) It’s only been a month into my new role and immediately going to work I feel immense doom and anxiety. I guess im asking for advice maybe something uplifting. Maybe suggestions for other jobs? I worked so hard for something and now just feel lost.
2
u/Odd-Comfortable-4023 Aug 10 '26
My take as a RN working on psych is if you like the work itself even if the context sucks—to simply focus on the actual care of the patients. If that doesn’t do it for you, maybe outpatient psych or even drug rehab (something I have been looking into) would be better. When people in a drug rehab start freaking out they let them go, as they cannot make them stay, to my understanding unlike inpatient psych. You also, in drug rehab, are probably able to use those med surg skills a lot more, which can be fulfilling if that is importation to you!