Mental Health Nursing - Lessons Learnt

On the Psychiatric Nursing list a new student posted saying 'hello' and seeking pointers. Given my 21+ years experience I pondered and sent what I hope will be a few pearls of wisdom:

* Learn to listen
* Learn from your clients - they are the experts
* Be yourself
* Look after yourself (1st lesson of 1st aid!)
* Do not prejudge
* Visiting people in their home - you are a guest - and not always welcome.
* Always remember you were a learner once
* You are also a learner today and tomorrow...
* With therapies always check the 'use by date'
* What aptitude~ is to engineering, so attitude is to health and social care
* Make 100% use of your placements - golden opportunities
* Always be ready to think on your feet
* So - keep an effective yet accessible toolkit in your head
* Take nothing personal - except constructive criticism
* Seek supervision - never be afraid to ask
* That's quite a gift: the talking mirror use wisely

Do some students squander their placements, like teenagers always thinking about the next year? It's the great opportunity to learn about in-patient, community - outreach services and the various therapuetic approaches. That's the problem though - if I knew then ....

~Aptitude does help when wielding injections...