How can psychiatric patients defend themselves against abuse in psychiatric hospitals in jurisdictions where staffs have an absolute legal control over them?
Staff do not generally have an absolute legal control over patients.* In my jurisdiction, for example, patients have the right to refuse medications unless those medications are intended to control their immediate behaviour and that behaviour makes the patient dangerous to themself or someone else. A psychiatric hold or formal certificate(s) means that the patient cannot leave the facility. It does NOT mean that staff can abuse the patient.As previous posters have said, your best bet is to start with your physician and the charge nurse and/or unit manager. You MAY also have the right to sue for negligence and/or malpractice.Generally for negligence to be true, it must be demonstrated that:a) a duty of care was owed to the patient;b) the standard of care was breached;c) harm occurred to the patient; andd) the harm that occurred can be demonstrated to be a result of the standard of care being breached.There are usually legal restrictions on exactly what types of chemical and mechanical restraints can be used on patients, how often they must be checked, and what type of physical (i.e. bodily) restraint holds staff can use on patients in unsafe situations. EVERY medication must be documented, EVERY restraint use must be approved (or be shown to be necessary in an emergency), EVERY patient interaction must be documented. This is especially true in psychiatric facilities, where, sadly, as a result of their illnesses, patients may not always be the most credible witnesses. (This is NOT to say that the patients have personal failings or that they are intentionally lying; rather, it is possible, depending on their medical condition, that they may have misconstrued an interaction or hallucinated or experienced a delusional belief.)*This is true in my jurisdiction. It may not be true everywhere.
Do you think it’s helpful for a mental health nurse to tell a patient with borderline personality disorder to grow up whilst in severe emotional distress?
Of course it's not helpful.
Nurse aide certificate renewal?
depends on what state you are in, if you've worked as a CNA in the past year, etc etc. Post again with those details and we can help you.\ It's usually pretty easy...not cheap, but easy.
Why would a book be confiscated upon arrival to an inpatient psychiatric hospital? What’s the danger?
I had two books confiscated during my stay in an inpatient psychiatric hospital earlier this year. One was a pleasure book and one was a book I was assigned to read for school.Most of the answers I’ve seen to this question say that it’s because of fear of harming yourself such as intentionally giving yourself papercuts. While this may be true, it wasn’t in my case.I was allowed paper. I was allowed to have my hardcover AP Government textbook, as well as review packets (with the staples taken out). My two reading books, however, were not allowed to stay in my room—or in the ward at all.This confused me at first because there was a shelf of books in the “rec room.” What made my books any different?Content.The book I was assigned to read for school was dark, and had mentions of poverty, death, sickness, sexual assault, and graphic suicide.The book I wanted to read for pleasure had mentions of crime, murder, and sexual assault.For someone in the mindset I was in, who had gone into the emergency room with suicidal thoughts and who got checked into an inpatient psychiatric unit, content like that would be, well, triggering. I don’t mean to use that word in the joking sense it’s often used in, I mean that sort of content could induce more dark, destructive and intrusive thoughts.The inpatient psychiatric unit gave me a lot I wasn’t thankful for: bad food, sleepless nights, and little privacy. One thing I am thankful for, though, is that I wasn’t allowed to read those books while I felt the way I did.
Does prison suicide watch have to be so degrading?
Some years ago (mid-nineties), I took a job as a support nurse at a women's psychiatric prison, and in particular worked in the high-security unit for women who are potentially violent or at risk for self-harm. In some ways I found the job rewarding, because I've always been drawn to helping people who are the lowest of the low, and the women in that unit were literally at the lowest point in their lives - bringing a smile to their faces, rare as it was, made me feel good. However, I quit after a few months, because I was absolutely appalled at their treatment in the HSU unit, at the complete lack of dignity or privacy they received. For example, for "security reasons", most of the women in the unit went about completely naked - no blankets, gown or clothing of any kind, even when restrained, on 24 hr. eyeball status, or walking in the unit hallway. No soap or toilet paper was permitted either. Cavity searches, required whenever an inmate left or entered her cell, were often done in the hallway. It seemed to me that subjecting these women, many of whom were already off-balance mentally, to this kind of degrading treatment made matters worse. I remember before I quit, I was talking with a girl in the unit in her early 20s (she had been in college before her arrest) who said that having to live in the nude, day after week after month, and especially interacting with COs and support staff in that state, made her feel completely worthless and even more depressed, and my heart went out to her. In my four months there, I did not once see her wear a stitch of clothing the entire time. Anyways, I often think about some of the women I met in that unit, and wonder how they are doing now. Specifically, I wonder what that kind of treatment, having to go around exposed like that for months on end, and being treated with an utter and complete lack of dignity would do to a person mentally. I did speak up about the treatment, but the security policies and CO attitudes were so entrenched that I couldn't do a thing. Maybe I would act differently now, but I was younger then and decided to leave. Is there anyone here with experience being held in these kind of conditions? Answer, or email me directly if that makes you feel more comfortable. Knowing that our system is capable of treating people like this bothers me to this day.
What is the difference between general medical records and psychiatric notes?
General medical records can be released with a standard signature from you and can be faxed. Psychiatric notes (as well as any pertaining to substance abuse and HIV/AIDS) should have a special box checked on the medical records release form and should not be faxed due to the sensitivity of the content.
Can an RN become an MD and then be a psychiatrist?
RN is a registered nurse, you become an RN after taking a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and then you write the RN exam depending on where you live to become an RN. An MD is a Medical Doctor. You would need a 4 year undergraduate degree then you would need to move on to Med School where after you completed your time in school, your internship at a hospital and your residency at the hospital you would be a Medical Doctor (ex. Dr. Joe Clark M.D.) A psychiatrist is a different field of doctor. You can go to med school and then specialize in psychiatric care in which case you would still be for example Dr. Joe Clark M.D. but you would be an MD specializing in psychiatry just like another doctor may specialize in brain surgery or in heart surgery. Hope that helps. Salary for nurses depend on where you live: usually around 60,000-90,000 a year depending on where you live, how long you've been doing it and what other kind of schooling you (for example if you have your masters in nursing) MDs usually range from 100,000 upwards, again depending on your field and your experience.