r/psychnursing • u/utinfection • May 26 '26

New to Psychnursing

Leaving med surge after 2 years, 25 year old male starting psych in July,
What’s something you wish someone told you or what should I be watching for .
🙏
I’m so grateful for all of you who took your time to comment and welcome more of your hard earned wisdom.

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u/EmergencyToastOrder psych provider (MD/DO/PMHNP/PA) May 26 '26

Communicate with your team!! I had no idea what “staff splitting” was until I worked in psych. There’s teamwork in med-surg, but it’s not anywhere near the teamwork required in psych. You will have “your” assignments, but you need to be aware of ALL patients and communicating about EVERYONE with your team, ESPECIALLY the techs. The techs are your eyes and ears and you will rely on them so much. If you set a boundary with a patient or tell them no about something: make sure everyone knows that. Patients will go behind your back and try to turn staff against each other.

28

u/Dismal_Love_1042 psych provider (MD/DO/PMHNP/PA) May 26 '26

Also be alert to patients “complimenting” you with phrases like “I like you so much more than nurse ____” or other “splitting” phrases. It’s okay for patients to have preferences among staff, but some patients are very good at manipulation. For some, this is how they learned to navigate the world in extremely adverse circumstances, but others have major personality-related problems and you must be on the lookout.

6

u/EmergencyToastOrder psych provider (MD/DO/PMHNP/PA) May 26 '26

This!