I'm a jaded mental health nurse working with very high risk individuals - as me anything

[Meadow90]

Ask me anything...

I work by a locked forensic psychiatric hospital. What do they do in there? Is there a risk to me as a passerby?

Do you enjoy your work?

@GOODCAT Do patients ever overcome their mental health issues?

Not the ones that I look after (all have complex and enduring mental health problems). I suppose our primary aims are to reduce distress, increase capacity for independence, minimise troubling symptoms and eliminate risk (as far as possible)

Do you get decent clinical supervision or the opportunity for work discussion groups? Not sure what you’d call it in your context, but the opportunity to make sense of the stuff that kind of work brings up.

Do you think mental health illnesses can be terminal?

@Bobbiepin

What advice would you give to students thinking of pursuing a career in nursing or mental health services?

This is actually a really difficult question. I'll have to think about it and get back to you

You said you sometimes feel sad for them, sometimes resentful- do you feel empathy or understanding? Mental health issues are so individually complex, it's never a 'one approach suits all' situation and I totally respect the job you do-
But as someone who has been 'the other side of the fence' so to speak, to answer the other posters question 'can it be terminal', well yes it really can, but given the right diagnosis/understanding/medication/ rehabilition and support, manageable and even (very fortunately in certain circumstances) curable.
I think more support needs to be in place for people like yourselves tho x

Do you wish you had chosen a different career? More money fir less stress?

Hey I'm a worn out community mental health nurse. I think all of our jobs are getting harder and harder, more paperwork, extra things added into work load, less staff and very challenging patients. My question is do you see yourself working til 68 cos I can't see myself wanting to do this job past 55ish x

Ps I've seen some awesome results from ect to the person who asked it's very much a guessing game as to who will relapse and who will thrive afterwards.

@slipperywhensparticus

How are you feeling today?

I'm a little distracted by some upcoming changes in work and what it could mean for my role. I'm a senior nurse and don't have the capacity to take on everything I keep being given to do!

Otherwise I'm feeling fairly good (and increasingly festive!)

Thanks for asking

@HappyHarlot

*All bar one of the MH nurses I know have now left the MH side of nursing. It's a tough job that I believe can only be done for so long before burnout occurs (way faster than my branch of adult nursing).

Will you stay in MH do you think?*

I'm just starting to look for a way out. How did your friends manage it?

Fellow RMN here 👋 @howdyhohho I often wonder how I will keep working in this role until 67 ......

Are there satsifying times when see you someone getting better or coping better?

I am a HCA, in hospitals but lately on forensic units. The MH nurses are bloody amazing. They manage to liase between all the agencies,managers,families,patients and medication rounds, yet manage to be right beside you when when situations are potentially dangerous. Hats off to you!

@Casmama Not sure how to ask this but for patients with long term very poor mental health who are suicidal, do you think it is always right to prevent them from carrying out their wishes?

It does cross my mind from time to time. Sometimes I wonder if I'm just perpetuating someone's living hell by intervening every time they try to find a way out. I suppose I try to recognise the illness first and foremost i.e this person isn't choosing suicide with their rational mind. More often than not an expression of suicidal intent is actually representative of a mental health symptom such as poor impulse control or hearing derogatory voices and those are things which we can try to treat

@madmumofteens thank you. I'm sorry to hear about your brother. I hope he's doing better now that he's retired

@lolawasashowgirl thank you so much

@FlowerTink thank you. I'm sure it hasn't been easy journey for you but brilliant you've been able to stick together and that things have stabilised

Do you think some of your patients wouldn't be where you work if more intervention had happened earlier?

Hey Meadow I'm also an RMN, although I have a specialist community role now (Admiral Nurse) which is very different and I love.

No questions! Just sending you some solidarity. It's tough on the wards and it's not getting easier as time goes on, staffing levels and keeping regular staff is a nightmare and everywhere is getting more acute.

Make sure you get supervision and time to decompress away from work.

Are you on an inpatient unit?
Adult social worker here - have you seen a cut to crisis services in your area and how are you managing with that? I work primarily with older people (although not exclusively) and we have seen a huge problem arising from the cut in intensive community service which aimed to work with people in crisis to avoid admission - I think we’ve seen a large increase in MHA admission as a result.

@Meadow90 thanks for such a thoughtful answer and for the work you do.

I'm also a senior nurse in a forensic unit

Another RMN here, hi!

When it comes to patient care, what one thing would you like to change or add?

I just wanted to say thank you for all you do to help your patients.

I'd like to ask
a) how do you keep going?
b) how much are mental health staff aware of the impact caring for someone with severe mental illness? I'm asking as a spouse of a bipolar partner who's now suffering with ptsd.