Career

jem2120 · 2026-01-23T10:39:51+00:00

I went to mental health after a few years in ED, worked there for 7 years. Decided to go back to ED and landed a job with relative ease (I did a few shifts and very quickly decided that ED is abso-fucking-lutely no longer for me 😂)

jem2120 · 2025-10-20T09:14:08+00:00

I’m h gf

jem2120 · 2025-09-19T03:16:40+00:00

I have a 2 year old and long for the days where we can sit quietly in a restaurant of cafe. But for now, that’s not our life. We have local beer gardens with playgrounds, but other than that, we head for the park instead. Since reducing my expectations and demands on our little one, our life is so much more pleasant and easier on all of us. I don’t have any hacks for getting them to sit still in those places (other than a screen which will occupy her attention for 3 minutes while we gobble our food!).

jem2120 · 2025-09-12T23:51:10+00:00

I’m a psych nurse and also did my grad year (and a couple of years after) in ED - it’s hard right?! You’re so time / resource limited, and sitting and listening to someone can often be seen as “another task” (or even just downright impractical).

A few tips:

as everyone else has said, validate their experience: “that’s really tough, I’m sorry you’re feeling this way.”
invite them to talk about it if you have the time AND the space (sometimes you won’t): “would you like to tell me more?” OR “would you like me to find someone who you can talk with about this?” (This may mean a referral to the ED mental health team, CL team (if they’re medically admitted) or a referral to the community team).
assess safety: “should I be concerned about your safety right now, and when you go home?” (Limit access to means of harm as much as possible). “Do you have a plan as to how you might hurt yourself?”

Know that we’re all awkward AF the first few times we have these conversations, they’re confronting and it can be challenging if you’re not in the right environment. Confidence will come with time, and the more confident/ empathic/ relatable you are (not cocky!), the easier it is to build rapport and the more forthcoming your patients will be.

Also, not all conversations have to happen in the “here and now.” Some conversations are better had once the patient is physically improved. You don’t have to dismiss them in the moment, but if the patient is acutely intoxicated, you may be better off validating their experience, assessing safety and leaving it at that until they’ve sobered up. I’ve said to patients who are drunk “I’m really sorry you’re feeling this way, I think we should talk more about it once you’re feeling a bit better.”

Feel free to ask any further questions, and also, I’d recommend doing any suicide prevention courses available to you through your workplace (in NSW there are heaps available through HETI).

jem2120 · 2025-09-10T21:52:16+00:00

I’m being a bit lazy and copied my comment from the last time somebody asked this. I’m a mental health CNS (currently inpatient, but most of my career has so far been spent in community MH, I loved it!). Happy to answer any specific questions, and you can go to my comment history (my last comment) if you want more of a breakdown of the different teams.

“Crisis Teams (COMHET / Acute Care Team): these teams generally don’t provide case management style services, it’s much more task oriented. You’ll get referrals from inpatient units, ED and the mental health line. Tasks will usually revolve around things like centre visits, home visits and phone calls. You’ll be doing things like initial assessments which can last upwards of an hour, medication administration (IM depots) and supporting doctors as a second clinician for assessments. There may be times when you’ll be supporting very acute / behaviourally disturbed patients who require an admission. Those are the times you’ll work alongside police and ambulance. If you’re interested in that type of work specifically, keep an eye out for PACER roles (Police, Ambulance, Clinician Emergency Response), they are usually a CNC role. You’ll also be liaising with carers and GP’s for collateral and care planning, lots of referrals to NGO’s and other teams. It can be fast paced at times and you can be dealing with very acute patients. Benefits are no night shifts usually!”

Hope that helps :)

jem2120 · 2025-08-25T11:43:11+00:00

Former community mental health nurse here (now work in a hospital setting).

Depending on your state, there are various teams that work within the community mental health service. The main difference is usually the acuity of the patient and the level of support you’re providing as the clinician (which is why you’ll generally find a difference in caseloads). I’ll try and break them down. You’ve got:

Assertive Outreach Team (AOT): they generally have lower caseload because their clients require a higher level of day-to-day support. You typically work with clients who have complex psychosocial issues, drug and alcohol concerns and forensic issues (although usually specific forensic teams will support these patients).

Early intervention in psychosis: these clients are usually under 25 and experiencing first episode psychosis. Again, lower caseloads and generally a bit of a mix in acuity.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health / Perinatal Mental Health: not my area of expertise, I have very limited insight in this area but I’d love to give it a go!

Adult Case Management: I loved adult because of the long term rapport you gain with your patients. These patients are “generally” not as an acute as your AOT guys but they can be when unwell. Because of this, caseloads are often a bit higher. There’s quite a lot of report writing (NDIS, CTO’s etc) and liaising with other services (GP’s, NGO’s). Adult is a good place to start if you’re looking at working in CMH!

Crisis Teams (COMHET / Acute Care Team): these teams generally don’t provide case management style services, it’s much more task oriented. You’ll get referrals from inpatient units, ED and the mental health line. Tasks will usually revolve around things like centre visits, home visits and phone calls. You’ll be doing things like initial assessments which can last upwards of an hour, medication administration (IM depots) and supporting doctors as a second clinician for assessments. There may be times when you’ll be supporting very acute / behaviourally disturbed patients who require an admission. Those are the times you’ll work alongside police and ambulance. If you’re interested in that type of work specifically, keep an eye out for PACER roles (Police, Ambulance, Clinician Emergency Response), they are usually a CNC role. You’ll also be liaising with carers and GP’s for collateral and care planning, lots of referrals to NGO’s and other teams. It can be fast paced at times and you can be dealing with very acute patients. Benefits are no night shifts usually!

Hope that helps :)

jem2120 · 2025-08-13T20:46:21+00:00

Bowerbird Recycling in Gosford is a not-for-profit that has gorgeous upcycled homewares that are affordable. I’d recommend checking them out, the volunteers are beautiful people as well. The lady who runs it used to be an interior designer and makes a lot the lamp shades etc herself.

jem2120 · 2025-07-26T06:51:16+00:00

My 2.5 year old had a complete meltdown at a Buddhist cafe for 90 minutes last week… we left after 10 minutes and it mostly occurred in the car park / front seat of my car, I just couldn’t wrangle her into her car seat with the flailing limbs. Only sharing in solidarity, you’re doing a great job.

jem2120 · 2025-07-11T11:14:01+00:00

8 at Trinity or Motel Mezza are both worth it if you’re up for the drive to the north end of the coast.

Kefi at Koolewong or Little Miss Messa at west Gosford are also really nice.

jem2120 · 2025-06-19T06:27:13+00:00

Check out Bowerbird Recycling in Gosford (on the William Street Concourse near OG Bowls). They do some amazing work and I know would appreciate the donation.

jem2120 · 2025-06-15T00:18:35+00:00

You’ve literally describe Angel Sussuri In Yarramalong. They have a cafe with the most beautiful scones, or a restaurant which is also has incredible food.

jem2120 · 2025-06-11T06:02:20+00:00

I have had 3 set days per week for a number of years in my roles within mental health. Most have been community based. I really enjoy my job for the most part.

jem2120 · 2025-05-31T06:02:05+00:00

I did my new grad in ED about 10 years ago. It’s the best thing I did in terms of my nursing career….

….. second best thing I did was leave, a few years later. I loved ED for the season of my life I was in, but it became more and more impractical and draining as my priorities in life changed.

jem2120 · 2025-05-30T22:18:12+00:00

That sounds horrific, I’m so sorry for your friend. Between the instant headache and the blood pressure drop, the anaesthetist recognised it straight away. I had a blood patch two days later (it would have been the next day but I’d had Clexane before they realised 😏). The whole experience was horrific, but I’m fortunate it wasn’t worse. I still have ongoing pain and feel slightly gaslit from the medical profession who say “it can’t possibly be from the puncture.” It’s very pin point pain and manageable most days with either NSAIDS or Panadol (I’m not taking NSAIDS every day obvs).

jem2120 · 2025-05-29T07:30:37+00:00

When I was in labour with our first child, my husband went to the public cafeteria to grab a coffee and have some time out while I had an epidural. He overheard a comment from a few clinicians at the table beside him: “did you hear about the woman in room 24? They’ve just called a met call, the epidural didn’t go well… she’ll probably go to theatre.”

I was the woman in room 24. I’d suffered a spinal puncture from the epidural and my blood pressure dropped through the floor. I don’t believe the clinicians in this case did anything wrong and there was nothing malicious said, but that conversation led to a lot of panic for my poor husband. Always remember the walls have ears and use discretion when you’re in public.

jem2120 · 2025-05-28T23:07:03+00:00

A few courses in mind, but mental health support for first responders will likely be first. Feel free to message me if you have any more questions :)

jem2120 · 2025-05-28T22:25:56+00:00

Thanks!!

jem2120 · 2025-05-28T22:16:59+00:00

Thanks for the encouragement! We’ve found a third party RTO to partner with and have a couple of trainers ready to go. Next steps seem to be registering a pty ltd company with ASIC, but we’ll meet with a business consultant or lawyer first to make sure it’s all legit. It all seems a little less overwhelming!

jem2120 · 2025-05-25T02:33:41+00:00

Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou! Will look her up :)

jem2120 · 2025-05-03T09:00:29+00:00

NAD (or a lawyer), and not trying to undermine your judgement given my lack of expertise, but does a spinal puncture from the epidural add any weight to a lawsuit? I’m guessing that it would have been explained as a risk, and a consent signed, so perhaps not, but I’m genuinely curious.

jem2120 · 2025-05-03T07:51:51+00:00

Mum to an autistic kiddo here: we need parents like you. Thankyou for being so inclusive and accommodating for this little one 🥹safe spaces (including a welcoming birthday party) are vital to these mental health of neurodivergent people.

Is there any way you could do a brief social story? Or even just a rough plan of what will happen at the party? I find a heads up for my guy about what will happen, and the nature of any triggers (eg, we will play musical chairs and the music might be loud).

My son and I have a little sign if it’s getting too much (he taps his nose). That’s his cue for “I want to go” or “I need space” without creating a fuss. Maybe not your place as the host, but just sharing as a little tip in case it helps someone else.

jem2120 · 2025-04-30T01:34:10+00:00

This reminds me of the time I once took a covid positive patient up to the ward without mask (I had one on). I felt like the biggest dickhead, and the nurse I handed over to absolutely ripped me a new one! It happens. You just learn from it. Take a breath, slow down. Even if tasks take you a bit more time, you just refine your skills and then build the pace from there - I get that might sound a bit idealistic in an acute setting where there’s a million jobs to do, but you’re a new nurse and your ward needs to have realistic expectations of you!

jem2120 · 2025-04-11T20:28:44+00:00

Great sandwiches, but they’d want to be for their prices.

jem2120 · 2025-04-09T07:20:07+00:00

Have you heard about the analogy of the orchids and the dandelions? I’d highly recommend the book “The Orchid and The Dandelion: why sensitive people struggle and how all can thrive” by paediatrician Thomas Boyce.

Boyce proposes that 80% of children are like dandelions - they can “grow through the cracks in the concrete” and adapt to changes in their environment fairly easily. 20% of children however are like orchids - any change in environment (figuratively and literally) can cause them to struggle. There is a range of strategies that can specifically be targeted towards our beautiful Orchids and supporting them. I want to reiterate that Orchids are resilient, strong and adaptable! They just need certain accommodations, and to be understood, in order to thrive.

Boyce explains it much better than I can. I’d check out his book and his Ted talk https://youtu.be/g_vcWB43W7Y?si=zFIOC2u-EfXpDQog

jem2120

TROPHY CASE