That was the job that convinced me to give up on my plan for a career in experimental psych and go to medical school.
From my own experience:
- Be decent, respectful and professional with EVERY pt, no matter how difficult. It's not your job to teach them manners. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." I've been told to do many things that are probably not anatomically possible, but it never ruined my day. The strongest response that ever did me any good was, "I haven't cursed or yelled at you, so there's no reason to do that to me. I'll do my best to make sure you get good care whether you yell or not." Verbal attacks generally have nothing to do with you personally. You just happen to be the one in front of them. They're generally angry, agitated, abusive because of their own suffering. It's just NOT about you.
- Remember, it's a treatment "team" and much of your job will be to support the nursing staff and to execute the "treatment plan" developed for each patient. Think about how you can help others do their jobs, and how you can help promote the treatment plan.
- Avoid the strong temptation to start thinking, "all (s)he needs is...." There's a very good chance you don't know as much about the pt and his/her background as you think you do and that your life experience does not apply to the pt's situation as much as you think it does.
- Physical intervention (hands-on) is the LAST resort. Learn all you can about different techniques to de-escalate patients and everything about how to avoid getting yourself into a situation that requires physical intervention to get you out.
- Avoid the temptation to think, "This is stupid. We just need to MAKE him go." As long as no one is getting hurt, you have TIME to find a way out of having this situation become physical.
- During any sort of crisis, only ONE person at a time talks with the pt. Avoid the temptation to chime in and "convince" the pt. with your two cents. More than one person talking only confuses the situation, diverts the pt's attention from what the team leader wants, and increases the pt's stimulation (a bad thing during a crisis).
- Find a mentor who can show you the ropes, help you understand the policies and procedures, can help you learn from situations that don't go as well as they could have, and who can help you vent and understand your own frustrations and irritations when they come up. Look for someone who's been doing this for a long time, seems to enjoy the job, is respected by others, and does NOT complain about everyone/everything.
Hope some of that helps.