May 2006

A particularly interesting help wanted.

Hmmm. I’m hoping to do a degree in mental health nursing in September. Thing is, I used to self injure quite badly and have visible scars all over my arms. I hear that you can’t wear long sleeves on the wards, I’m worried that this will prevent me from getting a job. I’ve been healthy for about three years, I work in a home for people with challenging behaviour and volunteer in a home for people with long term mental health problems. I know that I’m fine to do the job, I just don’t want my past to affect it.

Does anyone reckon that it will?

Thanks for any input.

I love the blog and it’s given me a lot if insight!

I would like to think that self harm would not affect your ability to get a job. I hope that it would only be your experience and ability to do the job.

I pass it over to the collective wisdom of the Mental Readership.

I’ll bet that title drives up the pervert traffic.

Five-Point Restraints.

I spied the nursing staff of the psychiatric intensive care unit in the public hallway. They were adjusting restraint belts on two hospital beds.

“Hello!” one of them greeted me. The rest of them looked up and smiled as I waved. “We haven’t seen you in a while; how are things?”

“Well,” I replied, my eyes watching them tear apart the Velcro and unhinge the buckles. “I recently came off of nights.” I faltered for a moment and then asked the obvious question: “What are you all doing?”

“We’re running through restraint practices,” one of them replied. It was so weird to see her at that time of day; the last time I saw her was around 1:00am on a random weeknight.

“Hey,” I suggested in measured words, “can you restrain me? Just so I know what it’s like?”

There is no way to sound casual when asking that question.

from intueri: to contemplate

This was fascinating. I’ve watched untold hours of U.S. TV where they tie people down with big fluffy restraints at the drop of a hat. I still can’t quite believe it is actually done. As far as I am aware it is not done in the U.K. at all. I can’t even remember another nurse suggesting it as a good idea. Though I’ve heard some clients and families ask if we can do it; to other people.

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An excellent article about the lack of a clear voice for and by mental health nurses:

It’s time the giant of mental health nursing woke up

The views of mental health nurses are markedly absent from clinical guidelines produced by The National Institute for Clinical Excellence, say Phil Barker and Poppy Buchanan-Barker. Mental health nurses, it seems, just don’t count. So, argue Barker and Buchanan-Barker, it’s time mental health nurses had their own representative body to stand up for them.

Or perhaps you feel the RCN, the NMC, Unison or whomever already do a good enough job ?

Another nurse was complaining about a client at our home. Apparently the client was being very sarcastic and a little bit nasty to the nurse. She was not very happy about being in a care home. She did not appreciate the excellent, high quality nursing care he was receiving.

We’ll call the other nurse Kim. The client can be Kenneth.

Kim: Kenneth is really annoying me. I don’t like it when clients are being ungrateful.

Mental: *looks at Kim* I’ve always liked people that are contrarily minded.

Kim: *looks disgusted* Yes, but that is what you are trained for, you go and deal with them.

I’ll ignore the stupidity of claiming the mental health nurse training is focused on dealing with awkward and contrary people.

What I was interested by was the idea that clients should automatically be happy to be on the receiving end of nursing care, or any care for that manner.

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Another interview possibly coming up. This time by a journalist doing an article for Open Mind.

Will keep you up to date.

Illegal drugs ‘common’ on wards

The head of a psychiatric hospital admits more than one in seven patients takes illegal drugs on the wards.

In recent weeks patients have smoked crack cocaine inside Chase Farm Hospital, in north London, while others have smuggled cocaine inside fast food.

This is news ?

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That was actually the title my brain formed. Thought I would use it. Recently came across a blog by an advocate:

Helping someone not to get angry

In a way there is a potential subtle conflict here: if someone is angered by something, shouldn’t we, as advocates, help them to express this anger? In this case however the individual had clearly expressed the view that they saw their anger wasn’t helping and they wanted me to help them avoid it.

I find myself looking forward to his Recipe For Paranoia which he mentions later in the post.

So, I’m thinking of going ahead and completing a 2 year accelerated course for graduates in mental health nursing. Do you think I’m crazy? my experience in a speech and language therapy department of a rehab centre has been great but I’ve really enjoyed the more caring side, and helping clients with their problems. Plus I am currently an assistant and I really want to actually enter a profession now.

Please tell me honestly, what skills do you think are needed to be a good mental health nurse? is it a good career choice, and has anyone completed a post grad course?

Would love to hear from any CPN’s and maybe a day in the life of a community psychiatric nurse as thats the area I would like to get into.