Film du jour
Today I switched with another student to the adult psych unit, to get a change of pace from the adolescents. The film-du-jour playing in the adult unit was "Seven Years in Tibet," with Brad Pitt. I only saw pieces of it but it wasn't too bad. I'll give it a thumbs up.
The adult unit was a different experience. It was a bit of a shift to communicate with adults for a change. But to be honest, I missed the quirkiness and drama of the teenagers. I missed being able to be a little wacky myself.
There have been a number of patients on the adult unit who are college students locally. It is finals time, and students stress out. Some have difficulties with the stress, and end up in the psych unit for a few days.
The other nursing students have all seemed curious about their stories. Yet no one has gone and talked to them. Maybe my fellow students felt shy about talking to them, since they are close in age and also students. Is it too close to home for comfort? It makes you realize that anyone can end up in the unit.
Well, I’ve changed a little during psych rotation, and I’ve learned to ask those tough questions. Today, I thought, “What the hell, I’ll go talk to the patient.” I went up, and we started a conversation. I asked about school, and we compared notes on classes. The patient talked about future plans and difficulties. The client was actually very sociable, and I was glad I’d had the conversation. It reminded me of what we learned the first day of psych. Don’t make assumptions. If you see a person with their head on a table, maybe they’re depressed, but maybe they’re just sleepy.
The adult unit was a different experience. It was a bit of a shift to communicate with adults for a change. But to be honest, I missed the quirkiness and drama of the teenagers. I missed being able to be a little wacky myself.
There have been a number of patients on the adult unit who are college students locally. It is finals time, and students stress out. Some have difficulties with the stress, and end up in the psych unit for a few days.
The other nursing students have all seemed curious about their stories. Yet no one has gone and talked to them. Maybe my fellow students felt shy about talking to them, since they are close in age and also students. Is it too close to home for comfort? It makes you realize that anyone can end up in the unit.
Well, I’ve changed a little during psych rotation, and I’ve learned to ask those tough questions. Today, I thought, “What the hell, I’ll go talk to the patient.” I went up, and we started a conversation. I asked about school, and we compared notes on classes. The patient talked about future plans and difficulties. The client was actually very sociable, and I was glad I’d had the conversation. It reminded me of what we learned the first day of psych. Don’t make assumptions. If you see a person with their head on a table, maybe they’re depressed, but maybe they’re just sleepy.
posted by Judith @ 10:43 PM
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