Psychiatric Nursing

mascherano11

Hi

I am a 24 year old male who is applying for entry for September 2013, I know I have to do an exam through the public appointment service and that there is no interview for the course. Just wondering if anyone here has any experience of applying of applying for Psyciatric nursing before? Any tips? What could I do to increase my chances of getting a place etc... Any help/Info would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

paperclip2

Have you read the Nursing Careers centre booklet? It is a good place to start.
Link (scroll down) http://www.nursingboard.ie/en/careers.aspx

An Bord Altranais also has a brief description of the role of a psychiatric nurse:

PSYCHIATRIC Nurse

Psychiatric nurses make up a significant portion of the health services personnel. Today about 5000 Registered psychiatric nurses practice in 40 Mental Health Services in Ireland. Each of those Mental Health Services provides a comprehensive range of interventions in the home, in the community and in hospitals. Psychiatric nurses play a pivotal role in all such services.

Anyone can experience mental health difficulties at any stage of life. Problems of a mental health nature can cause difficulties in people's lives in the short, medium or long term. Difficulties may arise from a variety of sources. These can include lifestyle patterns, employment circumstances, social and domestic situations, personal experiences or genetic make up.

The principal illnesses experienced by people with mental health difficulties include depression, anxiety, phobias, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia and grief reactions due to any sense of loss. Any of these illnesses can happen to adolescents, adults or the elderly population, and the primary role of the psychiatric nurse is aimed at meeting the needs of people experiencing these difficulties.

Those who enjoy close teamwork in a challenging environment may opt to make their contribution in a hospital or special unit. Here they will participate in the rehabilitation of people experiencing acute illnesses. People who may have traumatic symptoms require considerable support to overcome their difficulties. Psychiatric nurses play a significant part in the highly skilled team, making a difference to these individuals and providing support for their families and friends.

Nurses who enjoy more independence and like to be out and about may opt to work in one of the many community settings which mental health services provide. This type of work deals with people who are experiencing difficulties for the first time, or are having a recurrence of difficulties after a period of good health. This role may also involve care that focuses on the maintenance of optimum health for persons with enduring mental health problems. Nurses provide care in people's homes, day hospitals, day centres, supervised residential units and a variety of other community settings.

The three primary goals of psychiatric nursing are:

Promotion of mental health
Prevention of mental illness
Provision of holistic care and support for individuals experiencing mental ill health
Psychiatric nursing can be viewed as delivering a service at three levels of prevention. These are described as primary, secondary and tertiary levels of prevention.

Primary prevention involves promoting mental health. A core strategy within this involves the education of individuals, families and groups about potential threats to their health that may lead to mental ill health. Practicing psychiatric nurses fulfil a role in local health promotion units as well as working with voluntary groups and statutory agencies in delivering this message to the general public.

Secondary prevention involves dealing with mental health issues when they arise for individuals. If difficulties are identified early and the appropriate intervention occurs then the disruption to personal, family and occupational life of the individual is minimised. Mental Health Services work closely with all health service departments in the community and hospitals. Psychiatric nurses working in day hospitals, admission units in hospitals, and in the home play a key role in achieving this goal.

Tertiary prevention involves maintaining optimum health in persons with enduring mental health problems. Just as some physical illnesses such as diabetes create health challenges for individuals throughout their lifespan, occasionally people have to learn to live with and accommodate life long mental health difficulties. Psychiatric nurses provide support in the home, day centres and in residential units for these people.

Hope this helps.

WildRosie

I applied for general nursing this year and didn't get it. The test was harder than I thought and there was a lot of competition. All streams do the same test. There's four sections: skills/experience, verbal, numerical and job scenario. You are correct that there is no interview anymore. I personally found the job scenario the most difficult because there isn't much guidance.

I would suggest doing lots of sudoku puzzles, these helped me with the numerical. For the job scenario, read anything you can about what student nurses do. Also read the NCC booklet thouroughly. I'm doing a prep day in February which I wish I'd done last year. I'm also doing a one year full time healthcare support course with six weeks work placement in a hospital which I think will really stand to me next time round when it comes to the job scenario section.

mascherano11

Thanks for the replies guys, From what I'm reading its based solely on the aptitude test and no interview, or personal statement through CAO. Where can you do some preparation courses for the aptitude test? There seems to be a bigger intake into Psyciatric nursing rather than the likes of general too from reading the handbook. I'm going to apply to Trinity, DCU and UCD so hopefully I can gain a place.

WildRosie

Yes there is a bigger proportion of places reserved for mature students on the psych and ID nursing courses. The exact figures are in the Nursing: A Career for You booklet which is on the nursing careers centre website. I've booked a place on the prep course that Career Services run. A couple of people I know who applied last year said that they found it helpful. You are correct that the selection is based solely on the test. There's no personal contact as such. I'm hoping to get Children's & General in UCD. I got 221 this year so was a good bit short. Planning on making a big improvement this time round

Laydee

The year I sat the test I played alot of those brain training games. I also went to the career services day. http://careerservices.ie/nursing
I'd recommend it, I got my first choice & I would credit that to being as prepared as possible. Attending the prep day really eased my nerves about it too.

Jmckenzie

mascherano11 wrote: »

Hi

I am a 24 year old male who is applying for entry for September 2013, I know I have to do an exam through the public appointment service and that there is no interview for the course. Just wondering if anyone here has any experience of applying of applying for Psyciatric nursing before? Any tips? What could I do to increase my chances of getting a place etc... Any help/Info would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

Same as myself mate trying to get back to do psych as well and its solely based on results of the written assessment, loads of sample tests online get the head down and start doing them til they come out your ears. I got a book in library as well called How To Pass Selection Tests by Mike Byron and Sanjay Modha its actually brilliant, also the best web link for tests was this http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/psychotests.htm and the left tab allows you to select specific areas of testing. Like i said head down, good luck with it, and any other info you need id be happy to share