Psychiatric care – Better than its Image!
The most common reaction when I tell them that I am a station Manager in psychiatry: “psychiatry?! This is definitely exhausting!“ What is behind this is usually that hardly anyone has an idea of psychiatric care. The Image: a bunch of Crazy with drugs and fuser belts are quiet, and the staff goes to drink coffee.
The Reality…
… fortunately, is quite different. Nowadays, most of the stations are sorted according to subject areas. I work with young adults, often experience, and are overwhelmed with the tasks of independent living and with the adult stations. So, patients receive tailored therapy, in which all occupational groups are involved. Not only the therapists, the care knows in your area. It would be best to on a typical day in the psychiatric care. The layer service of the day in the care with the early service begins, usually around 6 o’clock in the morning.
To Start the day
After the Handover from the night service, first of all the organizational tasks to be done: to be checked, ordered food, medicines prepared, the documentation. For the patients on my Station the day starts either at 7 a.m. if you can help us in the preparation of Breakfast, or at 7:30 PM. At this time, all patients meet with the staff of the care, in a morning session to get rid of, how are you, how was the night and what’s coming up for the day. While we document the nurses, the content of the round, have the patient time to eat Breakfast.
Delivery
The tasks of the early morning are done for hours, even for Breakfast, before then the therapist can start your service. Our most important task now is to report to the whole Team in a Transfer, what is covered in each individual patient, what topics the individual is employed. We distribute, who is leading the talks in the case of redundancies and additions, and schedule further discussions with us, nursing staff and discuss the upcoming medical examinations.
The lively morning
The Transfer is over time for the patients is maintained until the beginning of the late service. To Talk To. Discussions with the patient – a nurse for each patient in addition to the individual therapist is responsible. Intake interviews, crisis calls, as well as the short contact in the regular rooms through corridors. The medical officers always accompanied a Person from my Team – or myself – to ensure cooperation between the different professional groups. In addition, we accompany the preparation of meals. In our area a variety of medical measures, such as Dressing changes and blood pressure checks, fall beyond.
The intensive afternoon
Of the 15 specific therapy of our Station, and offered to be carried out in eight of the care, some of them in the afternoon or evening. These include relaxation therapies and mindfulness exercises (focus on themselves). Or the “skills group”, with the skills to be learned, to be replaced by the destructive behavior. This is one of the therapies that I guiding.
As the time fills up quickly. The patients are busy in the morning, in the evening hours, often the tormenting thoughts and feelings, which are then collected by us in conversations.
From the evening through the night
During the greater part of the late service and during the night service, we are concern of single point of contact for all Patients and only inform in case of emergency the Doctors. At night only one from the maintenance team is always there. Due to this Situation, a special responsibility arises. Together with the activity described in today’s psychiatric care only works by the high technical qualifications of each Individual!
Photo: Fotolia / bst2012