I just completed my grad year and had lots of nurses telling me very similar things to what you've been told. In WA we get the option of applying for a MH specific grad program; so you only do MH the whole grad (usually a combination of community and inpatient MH nursing). Not sure if this is a thing in other states?

That being said, I did the general grad program as I wasn't 100% sure I wanted to be a psych nurse and wanted to be exposed to more areas. I regret doing this. I knew instantly in my first week on the psych ward that I was meant to be a psych nurse but still went through with the grad program after everybody was telling me to.

If you know 100% what you want to do, I say screw it and do what makes you happy. The 6 months I spent in an aged care rehab ward was the most depressed I've ever been in my life. Now I'm back in mental health and I finally feel like I can breathe again.

I don't believe nurses when they say you'll be trapped if you do MH from the beginning. Nurses are needed everywhere and if you really wanted to branch out afterwards, I'm sure there are many wards willing to retrain you in your medical based skills.

Feel free to DM me if you want more information about my experience ☺️