As I was running between meetings today, several emails hit my inbox from APNA members responding to a query by Dr. Teena McGuiness, Director at Large, for APNA about what would your Psychiatric Bumper sticker say. As the interchange unfolded it went from the serious to the seriously funny. I really have to love the perspective of PMH nurses-we have a "take" on the world that many others fail to appreciate. My serious contribution to the exchange was: Psychiatric Nurses: Caring for the Core of the Human Spirit. (Actually I really do believe this, but at most times I doubt my colleagues would believe me!)
As an Associate Vice President of Behavioral Health Services responsible for 14 inpatient units (320 beds), I was doing my daily impression of a hamster in the exercise wheel running from meeting to meeting, and of course my mind was racing just a few paces ahead....
the year is ending and soon it will be time to set PI/QA targets for 2010; I wonder when budget approvals will be announced so all my "frozen" positions will "thaw"? Do I have time to meet with the evening ADN? How will the employee grievance for the disciplinary go this afternoon? How shall I do rounds this week--what time of day? How can I best get the staff nurses to sharpen their skills, and why am I sitting in the "resuscitation committee" meeting????
Of course, I am sure we all have days like this where we want to yell out: "Stop the world, I want to get off". And then it hits me that what I am doing is just a few steps further away than the direct care provider generalists and APNs, but our work is all geared to the same point: Caring for the Core of the Human Spirit. Each day, I really am in awe of all the work that the nurses in our institution do...admission assessments, interpersonal work with patients, running groups, trying to learn the latest upgrades to our electronic medical record for documenting their work and of course those multiple discharges. As I was thinking over the "dashboard" that I need to create for next year's PI, I could think of at least 10 indicators that I needed to follow to meet regulations for state and national accrediting/certifying bodies. Of those 10, at least 7 directly come from staff practice. It certainly is easy for me to see how the Nurse generalist can get overwhelmed, and yet as I round, more often than not, I find dedicated, hard working nurses who really do attempt to do the very best. Unfortunately, Psych Mental Health (PMH) nursing isn't as "glamorous" as the fast pace of the ED or as "family oriented" as Maternal Child work. Well, give me a competent, compassionate nurse who focuses on the core of the human spirit any day-they are truly the PMH nurses who shine!
Kudos and blessings to each of them!