Job Dreams: Psychiatric Nurse

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As part of our Job Dreams series, we speak to professionals from different careers and share their advice with you. Last month, we learned what it's like to be a nail technician. This month, we met Nick, who told us all about what it’s like to be a psychiatric nurse…

What do you do?
Community psychiatric nurse. My specialist role is the senior practitioner for co-occurring conditions. This means I work with people who not only have severe and enduring mental illness but also have issues surrounding alcohol and drug use.

Can you tell us what your day-to-day is like? 
Each day can be different however to try and give an overview: we start the working day with a multidisciplinary team meeting where difficult or complex cases are discussed. This meeting includes nurses, a social worker, occupational therapist and psychiatrist which allows us to gain input from multiple professionals and perspectives.

The day is then overseen by clinical face to face appointments. In my case these are more often in the community in the patient's own home. These appointments include monitoring a patient's mental state, physical health, side effects from medication as well as reviewing any social issues that may arise from having a mental health diagnosis.

I also have managerial responsibilities which include line management and support of colleagues as well as overseeing and triaging new referrals coming into the service.

What do you love most about your job?
I get to work with a variety of individuals from all walks of life and I also get to work in a team with multiple professionals. Not every day to day is the same and there are always new challenges to face 

What do you find most challenging?
Seeing the difficulties and barriers in the way of providing the best possible care for patients under my care. 

What did you see yourself doing when you were a kid?
I initially wanted to be a physiotherapist however when I was younger I didn't do as well as I wanted academically and I ended up moving away from this.

What challenges did you face in reaching where you are today?
Following a period of drifting away from my original goal of wanting to be a physiotherapist I had a period where I could figure out what I wanted and found it difficult to find work and a career path. It took me until I was 26 years old to decide I wanted to be in a caring profession and made the decision to go back to study for my nursing degree.

Where do you see yourself going next?
I am currently in the process of completing my non medical prescribing training therefore I want to see where I can go in my clinical practice. Where that is exactly I’m not entirely sure but I am currently happy in my role and will give myself the chance to have a think about the next step.

What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first left school?
Don't rush at your career pathway. Sometimes having experience in work life and personal life can help guide this decision. Coming to this decision can come later than you thought.

What advice would you give to someone interested in joining your industry?
The qualification opens up many doors and is a little like a golden ticket. Have a think about where you might want to work or even delve into an area you know little about. This will develop your skill level.

Also, look at the variety of routes needed to get to be a qualified nurse. There are the university degrees but now there are also nursing associate trainee positions where you can get paid whilst you learn, splitting your time between work and university days.

What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve been given?
Be open and honest with yourself. We all have doubts when we make these decisions in our career so if you are unsure, reflect on why you may feel like this and then look into what might help you overcome these barriers.

What quote do you live by?
I am not one for quotes.