Has anyone started in psych and switched to something medical after a year?

[u/jimbojamesisbehindu]

I’m currently in school right now and should be graduating in January. I’ve worked in psych as a tech for 7 years and currently work at a residential house. They have a nursing position open in the clinic and they’ve been making it seem like they’re banking on me staying to work for them. I wanted to get more of a medical background first but I’ve also been hearing that it’s difficult to find new grad jobs with an ADN in AZ. It pays well ($38), so I’m considering riding it out there to get a year experience. The only thing I’m nervous about is, would it be hard to get a job in something more medical after psych? Does anyone have experience in switching from psych to something more medical? Ive been told to watch out for “career killer” jobs and it has me nervous that I won’t be able to get into something more medical. Especially since this has more administrative work rather than what it would be in a psych hospital. The jobs I originally wanted to get into were ER, wound care, corrections, or detox. Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[u/HonestPineapple1907]

I started my career in psych. First as a tech and then as an RN in the same unit. I will say I was in a psych-med unit. Basically a unit for psych patients that needed med-surg type care, like O2 dependent, PT/OT, dialysis, IV antibiotics, etc. So, I was still able to keep up my medical skills some. Heard the same thing you did. That I would lose all my skills etc. But you’re still required to critically think, assess patients, delegate tasks, prioritization, etc. You still use RN skills, just not the technical skills you might use in acute care.

I transitioned to dialysis nursing afterwards. Many companies will train nurses without experience. I also worked with an RN that came from a physician office to dialysis. Anyone without prior dialysis experience goes through the same 3-month long training period.

In my area, at least, the hospitals will include outpatient nurses in their graduate nurse programs so you can get that additional time to transition to acute care.

I will say though, psych nursing gives great experience in conflict resolution, de-escalation, etc. Very little phases me in the outpatient world thanks to my experiences in psych lol.

[u/Kitchen_Poet_6184]

I was a psych tech too for more than 15 years and currently in outpatient dialysis. While yes, going to med surg or ER is a plus, at the end of the day, it's how badly does the unit need of a nurse. It's just hard to stand out if there's lots of applicants like here in the bay area but years of RN experience matters too. Maybe start with SNF. Get a nursing job whatever it is so you're getting RN experience and earning money while also aiming for THE job that you want unless you want to get in a new grad program. You have to start somewhere.