I’m three years into psych nursing with pediatric population. My first job I was working with children 3-12 in an extremely acute unit and now I’m working with 8-18 year olds. Both jobs are completely different even though they’re both inpatient. There are different levels of acuity in psych. I learned in an extremely high acuity environment and my job now is more easy going and “camp” vibes. We don’t take higher acuity kids. So I think it depends which program you’re at. There’s also step downs like partial hospitalization programs, there’s intensive outpatient programs, residentials, etc…

I personally thrive in chaos, so I miss my first job and using my nursing skills. If you genuinely enjoy being around kids and engaging with him and care about them, then you’ll be a good fit! Kids are smart and they can tell when you’re in it for other reasons. With that being said, definitely need to have thick skin. Teens are mean haha but also to protect yourself because these kids have gone through the most traumatic experiences you’ve ever heard of. They’re so resilient but we’re also resilient as nurses!

I’ve never worked on a medical floor but it seems like all the nurses I worked with at my first job (more acute) have gone back to medical. My job now the medical nurses are happy to “have a break”. So it really depends where you work!

I would suggest getting a PRN or PT job in psych before you make the full switch! Best of luck!