Which of these would you choose ( I value your opinions)..

[tiredemma]

Right- some of you may find this a bit boring.

Basically as some of you will know- I am a Mental Health student nurse, next july I get the chance to partake in an 'elective' placement- ie, I choose where I go.
Normally we are encouraged to go overseas but as I have children, this is impractical (GRR!)

so therefore I am staying in Birmingham and have decided to spend time in an area that perhaps I may like to work one day ( still with me)

so today I have discussed it with my tutor and narrowed it down to the following-

A Forensic Child and Adolescent Medium Secure unit- patients ( between ages of 10 and 18) referred to the service with mental health problems with associated behaviour that places themselves or others at risk of serious harm through direct violence to people (including homicide), sexually aggressive behaviour or destuctive use of fire. (very challenging- this unit had the boys who killed James Bulger there for most of their sentence, so I doubt its a cheery place to work)

Community Child and Adolescent mental health services- as the title suggests- working within the community with children suffering MH problems.

Mother and Baby unit at hospital- (9 bedded unit) looking after mothers with their young children- mothers suffering from Bipolar, severe PND, post pleural psychosis.


All of the above interest me, these are placements that I would poissibly not normally get as a 2nd yr student so its a good opportunity to 'expand my knowledge!'

what do you lot think?

[spottyshoes]

Working within a YOT I can tell you that the 1st one is very interesting but also very frustrating as the other services involved with children of that age work within very different guidlines which dont overlap well. OUr MH Nurse finds it a constant stuggle battling the red tape and the criminal v's care argument. The 2nd one sounds quite general - our CAHMS get EVERYTHING dumped on them, are massively overworked and very stressed out so I personally wouldnt like that one! The 3rd sounds really interesting and something that I would like to do now being a mother myself - interested in anything to do with babies/pregnancy lol. Maybe not as challenging as the other 2 though i dont know?
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[unknownrebelbang]

How long is the placement for?

I'd go for option 1 for a placement, depending on the length, but then I work (in an admin role) with HR adult offenders who often have MH problems, so I have an interest in this line.

[ScottishMummy]

genuineley whatever your clinical interest is and where you skills, interests, previus experiences (and weaknesses) lie should determine where you chose an elective

you need to consider
your genuine intersts and leanings
mentorship available to you
what actual exp will you gain eg CPA, Care planning, asociate nurse etc
what interventions will u participate in, oppurtunities to work with MDT eg OT/SW

do a pre placement visit, look around, ask questions. do existing staff seem happy (note these days who's happy staff wise)
what is ward ethos
what did previous students think of clinical placement in these units
do they use a lot of agency/locum - if so why usually indicative of a problem lots of agency use

[Alambil]

Personally, I'd do mum n baby unit because I'd love to see the bonds born through the help the women get. Having known someone who had post-partem psychosis, these units are absolutely amazing at rehab and mum-baby bond help too so I'd love to get experience there, but I am not you!

The kids one (number 1) sounds absolutely emotionally rollercoaster-ish - could that be "too" taxing ?

Would "just" a mum n baby unit be boring for you?

Would you prefer a challenge - physical and emotional I rekon, or just experience (as challenging as that is...)

[Wilkie]

With NO experience whatsoever in any of the fields mentioned I would go for option 3. I think I would empathise more being a mother myself.

[ScottishMummy]

btw, i have worked in RSU/MSU and indeed they actually were v stimulating happy structured environments so bit of a misnomer to state" so I doubt its a cheery place to work" due to the specialist nature of the msu/rsu environment you will find staff there are generally V motivated and have selected this environment to meet their specialist skills/interests

all medical placements are stressful in their own way as you are dealing with mood/adjustment disorders/psychosis/psychosocial issues...but most importantly real people having difficult times

i have worked in all the above settings -loved them all equally

[laughalot]

Num 3

[NAB3]

Mother & Baby unit.