Making the Leap to Practice

Abstract

When we last left our nurse, Janice, she was in nursing school and had declared her interest in pursuing psychiatricmental health. Janice has now graduated and taken her first job in an adult inpatient psychiatric unit, taking the advice colleagues who told her to go right into psych. .. that the idea that she needed a year in med-surg first was untrue. While she loves her new job, she experiences challenges and uncertainties every day. The stress of a job that requires highly refined skills and judgement in a demanding environment begins to take its toll. She is looking for support so that she can achieve her vision of being "a proud partner in the journey to whole health" for her patients. Janice also continues to encounter judgmental and stigmatizing comments from her family, friends, and nurse colleagues. She knows what she's doing is incredibly valuable, but she struggles to find the words to explain this value to them.

Exploring the Dynamics of Attracting and Retaining Acute Care Psychiatric Registered Nurses: An In-Depth Analysis Using Focus Groups

“…Recruitment and retention of PMHN has been a longstanding concern for the specialty [18][19][20][21]. A 2022 survey by Nursing Solutions, Inc. (NSI) of 273 US hospitals reported the turnover rate for PMH-RNs was 20.8%, slightly lower than the 2021 rate of 23.4% and lower than the 2022 average turnover for RNs (22.5%) employed by reporting hospitals [22].…”