Psychiatric department

Jette Svensson
- ward nurse at a psychiatric department

To work with psychiatric patients requires that you work with yourself. It is necessary to know your limits as well as your strong and weak points because we witness violent and emotionally strong experiences. It can be very hard and at the same time the greatest gift to be that close to other human beings.

The staff at a psychiatric ward is taught about prevention and conflict management to be able to handle difficult situations.

The job is very exciting and new things happen in the field all the time. Our patients often have difficulties speaking up for themselves. At the same time it is very important that they have influence on their own treatment. Contrary to many other areas of nursing, it is often difficult to define the needs of the individual psychiatric patient.
The treatment is very individual – often a combination between medicine and therapeutic communication.

To work with psychiatric patients demands that you are willing to give something of yourself. The reward is the feeling that you make a difference in the daily life of both patients and colleagues.