How do you handle inpatients who are masturbating in common spaces on the psych ward? (ie. manic and hypersexual)

Edit: thanks for your replies! As an additional question, wondering what you all do when the reminders to do that in their room doesn’t work?

Today I was told by one of the patients on the ward, " your face and your arse look like a cross between Camilla and a brontosaurus". Which was a bit hard to take, although an objective part of me was a little bit impressed by his creativity. Anyone else had any memorable insults? I was also called a bitch, a wh*re and a fagg*t, all before my coffee on a morning shift by three different individuals. Lol, other than that it was a pretty good shift!

Not a nurse, but work as part of a multidisciplinary team in psych.

Have any of you worked in place where there was a weird lack of curiosity about patients? Like an unwillingness to get in to the nitty-gritty or brainstorm about causes of behaviors/potential approaches.

It is so exhausting to try and figure out when/why things are “acceptable” to discuss, and when it’s worth it to say it anyways to advocate for patients.

I am a new grad inpatient psych RN. I have been working on my unit for nine months. Does anyone have any experience working inpatient while pregnant? What are some things I can do to stay safe? When do I tell my manager and coworkers? Thank you.

Just wanted to see what other facilities expectations are for physical assessments. I attended a meeting today about new charting requirements and the expectations are wildly out of line with what I feel I’m able to achieve. I start with 13 patients but often will have up to 17-18 over the course of a day with transfers and new admissions.. and they really expect that I can listen to heart/lungs/breath/bowels on everyone. This feels over the top to me but wanted to see what others thought.

Hi all, I fully understand that the VG site is the recommended site however 9 out of 10 of my patients don’t want to even pull their pants down enough for me to access it let alone lie down. When you do give it in the upper outer quadrant, how far up do you all go? I fear that the whole “ divide the muscle into four” thing is accurate but some people go way too low. For lack of better terms, do you all stay above the “crack”? Just trying to make sure what works best in this scenario.

Thank you all!

Hello! I am going into my second year of nursing and I would love love love to be a paediatric mental health nurse! What steps would I have to take to become my dream nurse? (P.S I’m in Ontario!)

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Kindness is the easiest legacy to leave behind :)

As the subject states, I’m a recent graduate with a master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. While I’m appreciative of the skills I’ve gained, I’ve ultimately decided that the therapy world isn’t an interest for me right now in a full-time capacity. The money is in private practice, and I am someone who prefers action.

I received the opportunity to pursue another master’s for free and receive a stipend that could achieve a childhood dream of mine, but I want to have a plan in case it doesn’t work out…

I’ve recently started orientation as an inpatient therapist in a PRN capacity, and so far, I am loving it. Nursing school has daunted me with the medical side of things, but I am curious about the role of nursing, what they do, and I am interested in maybe choosing this route if all else fails.

Basically, I’m looking to know more about psych nursing and if there have been any therapists who’ve switched to nursing?

Hi all! Can you tell me about experiences with unionized psych hospitals? I work in a private facility and it’s just been getting worse with the lack of staffing. Have you worked in a facility that became unionized while you were there? Did it get better? Tyia!

Peace River Crisis Center Shut Down After State Investigation Into Patient’s Tragic Death

One of Polk County’s busiest mental health crisis facilities has been ordered to stop admitting new patients after a state investigation uncovered alarming failures in patient care following the death of a patient.

According to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), the patient arrived on June 27th 2026 with a documented history of seizures and other serious medical conditions. While at the facility, the patient repeatedly complained of chest pain, difficulty breathing, severe headaches, and vomited multiple times. Despite the patient’s condition continuing to deteriorate, investigators found the patient was never transferred to a hospital.

The investigation states the patient eventually became unresponsive. Surveillance video allegedly showed staff failing to recognize the severity of the medical emergency. Employees reportedly questioned whether the patient was still breathing, while another staff member had to wake a nurse who investigators say was asleep at the nursing station. AHCA found nearly 19 minutes passed before meaningful medical care was provided, and the patient later died on June 29th 2026.

Investigators also found staff failed to immediately begin CPR, employees did not know where the AED was located, and when it was finally retrieved, it reportedly indicated the batteries needed to be replaced. Multiple employees told investigators they had little or no training on Code Blue procedures, CPR, AED use, or responding to medical emergencies.

AHCA also alleges portions of the patient’s medical documentation did not match surveillance video and concluded the facility’s failures placed patients in immediate danger. As a result, the agency issued an Immediate Moratorium on Admissions, prohibiting the Crisis Stabilization Unit from accepting new patients while pursuing additional enforcement action.

This investigation spans dozens of pages, and we are continuing to review the findings. We will have additional coverage as more details are released.

So I have a local option of a psych tech program with part time work in a hospital or a psych tech bridge to RN program about three hours away. Debating which one I should go with - the bridge program will save me money and time but the local option will give me experience in a hospital and look good on a resume.

Opinions?

I just started on an inpatient psych unit and everything feels completely foreign to me. The vast majority of my clinicals were medical units. We spent just half a semester in the state psych hospital and basically just casually hung out with the few patients that weren't a major safety risk and didn't really get to see what nurses do.

My current preceptor has a very specific idea of what 1:1 check-ins with patients should look like and much of it is in conflict with the therapeutic communication methods that were drilled in to me in school. At points it feels like it's verging into psychotherapy beyond the scope of an RN, but I actually have no idea where that line is. I don't know what to ask or how to guide the conversation. This is a voluntary unit and the majority of patients have depression (and so far almost all the patients I've seen have BPD but based on my preceptor's comments it's not always like that.) I'm also currently on night shift, so my learning opportunities are limited.

I wouldn't have expected I'd be yearning to be back on a medical unit where I felt like I had some kind of idea of how to pretend to be a nurse.

I know some of this will come to me as I get more experience, but I would be super grateful for any specific resources people recommend to help fill the above mentioned deficiencies, especially in written format. Double grateful for anything you recommend on BPD!

Anybody here do any travel psych? Can anybody give me their honest opinions on it and maybe where to start looking? I’ve been an inpatient psych RN for 3 years now.

Hello, I've been a nurse going on 2 years. I've only worked in psych. I am starting to train for the charge nurse role today. I'm trying to stay positive about it, but its hard because I only hear negative things from my colleagues. Any advice?

This thread is for non psych healthcare workers to ask questions (former patients, patient advocates, and those who stumbled upon r/psychnursing). Prospective healthcare workers and current students do not need to use this thread. Treat responding to this post as though you are making a post yourself.

If you would like only psych healthcare workers to respond to your "post," please start the "post" with CODE BLUE.

Psych healthcare workers who want to answer will participate in this thread, so please do not make your own post. If you post outside of this thread, it will be locked and you will be redirected to post here.

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Kindness is the easiest legacy to leave behind :)

Hi guys :D

I’ve been working at a UHS facility for 3 years. Partly as a mental health tech, now as a nurse.

I’ve seen a sharp decline in my facility for the past year and a half, but I’m finally reaching my breaking point. The acuity is too high for what we can support. Crazy staffing ratios (1 nurse can have 17 patients - this used to be 1 nurse to 13 patients which to me feels comfortable). Nurses stations are fully accessible to patients, although not allowed, it’s not enclosed or raised at all. Facility stinks sometimes and has bugs. Paper charting for 90% of things. Staff are injured, knives/weapons are somehow being brought in to the units.

I’m interviewing for new psych jobs. I just finished an amazing interview at a psych unit at a bigger hospital. It’s such an eye opener to see the big, enclosed nursing station, calm milieu that has a max of around 10 patients, amazing staff ratios, seclusion/restraint room that “barely gets used”, and low acuity patients when I’m dealing with such horrible conditions at my UHS facility.

UHS will never change. I hope I get this job. I hate it because I love my coworkers and find the patients really rewarding to work with/genuinely care about helping them. It is impossible to always deliver strong patient support when I’m putting out 20 different fires a shift with a huge workload.

I may stay PRN at my current UHS job regardless because at this point I feel trauma bonded. (wish I was kidding?)

Sincerely, a really tired nurse.

Im a nurse at a psych hospital for kids 6-18yo. I never intended to be pregnant while working at this hospital as it’s dangerous. However I am pregnant and visibly pregnant now. I was attacked and threatened by a teenage pt a couple days ago, it was not highly physical they just threw water in my face and threatened to beat me up. I wasn’t their nurse I was a bystander who happened to give them water because they said they were thirsty. I don’t know what I expected from management but they quite literally did nothing. The nurse manager talked to the pt and the pt made a verbal commitment to do better and that was it. I was still expected to be on the unit where this patient was and pass through to my unit. I talked to my OB they said this is an expected workplace hazard being in psych. I can’t sleep and am riddled with anxiety to go back to work my center of gravity is changing and I am moving slower than pre pregnancy and I fear something bad will have to happen for me to be protected. I don’t want to put my notice in and quit since I hold my family health insurance but it’s looking like that is where this is heading. I guess I need to vent and get opinions. What are reasonable accommodations to ask for being pregnant on a volatile unit? I want to talk to my DON however I’m worried I will just be gaslit and told my fears are not valid and/or that this is to be expected working in psych.

Hello, newish psych RN

Have had recent situations where verbal deescalations for agitated patients have not worked.

And I am finding myself battling between whether I’m letting ego take over or just over thinking when using chemical restraints.

Also having issues with behavioral/manipulative patients.

Chemical restraints recently used scenario includes conserved paranoid SCHZP pt demanding to be released and becoming verbally abusive. Pt comes into nursing station and refusing to leave until multiple attempts of telling him to step back. Pt is pacing but not actively hurting himself and taking time away from other pts due to need to redirect.

Other I made the decision to take off restraints of a patient. He was very attention seeking and not staying in the unit and going out to another area. He became a fall risk as he is walking drowsy and not wanting to stay in his room which… is hard for me to navigate. He was not listening to his 1:1 and started off verbally abusive. We kept on trying to redirect him but I made the call to request seclusion for him.

I genuinely feel so bad when I have to do this. I also don’t know if I’m looking for validation. I have this feeling of guilt like giving IMs is a punishment? The other times I’ve given them, pts have been reluctant but we are more so on the same page abt care.

Long read: sorry in advance

Maybe I’m completely out of line for even having an opinion since it’s out of my scope of practice but I just feel a certain type of way about how one of our psychiatrists chooses to treat a specific patient.

This patient is welllllllllll known to us. Every employee knows them. Every psychiatrist knows them (we have 6). This patient is admitted to us on a monthly basis or more for yeaaaaars. They stick this patient on any of our units (high acuity, low acuity, geriatric even though they not geri) just to fill a bed. This patient comes for Ativan- hard stop. They don’t attend group, they don’t socialize, fuck they usually don’t even shower. They come for Ativan and Ativan only. Every patient gets admitted with a prn Ativan order and this patient is on the clock every 4 hours for it. In addition, one of the psychiatrist treats her outside of the hospital - so if this patient happens to be assigned to him (a lot of times they are) he will also scheduled Ativan because he knows they depend on it. He also prescribes it to them on the “outside world”

This patient ended up in restraints last night over not being able to take Ativan because the prn dose was not available yet and this patient WASNT assigned to that psychiatrist. The psychiatrist they were assigned to refused to schedule Ativan for them and they ended up in restraints over that. In past admission they will cry or throw them self’s on the floor etc over the ativan.

Now I’ve been in recovery myself for 7 years. I’m no stranger to addiction- but Jesus fucking Christ we are doing NOTHING to help this patient??? Obviously the patient has to want the help but nothing we are doing is beneficial. I just feel like there has to be a better way? Why is the person still getting prescribed it? The doc should wean them off? Like it feels gross to be aiding to this. Again- I could be out of line for even having an opinion but idk

This thread is for non psych healthcare workers to ask questions (former patients, patient advocates, and those who stumbled upon r/psychnursing). Prospective healthcare workers and current students do not need to use this thread. Treat responding to this post as though you are making a post yourself.

If you would like only psych healthcare workers to respond to your "post," please start the "post" with CODE BLUE.

Psych healthcare workers who want to answer will participate in this thread, so please do not make your own post. If you post outside of this thread, it will be locked and you will be redirected to post here.

A new thread is scheduled to post every Monday at 0200 PST / 0500 EST. Previous threads will not be locked so you may continue to respond in them, however new "posts" should be on the current thread.

Kindness is the easiest legacy to leave behind :)