Hi! Any tips for getting into the psychiatric nursing field as a new graduate?

Find a place willing to train you and apply. I’d recommend a large teaching hospital, because there will be more positions and support, like a new grad residency. I started out as a new grad on a psych unit where most of the nurses were older and didn’t have much support. My preceptor ended up going out on maternity leave and I studied under a crusty old bat. I made do and don’t regret the choice I made but this was 2009 and the economy was a bit different and nursing jobs were harder to find as a new grad.

Hi! The best way to enter psychiatric nursing as a new grad is to enter a residency program and let them know that your goal is to become a Mental Health nurse. Most residency programs will hire you for the specialty unit but will assign/lend you to work 6 months to a year of Med/Surg. Please don't take offense. Every patient is a Med/Surg patient regardless of the specialty unit they are admitted to. Patient's always have more than one problem. A Mental Health patient might have hypertension or diabetes. An OB patient might have thyroid problems or kidney disease. It is impossible to assure that a new grad will be proficient in Med/Surg without any experience. Good luck. You can do this.

Just apply! I work in psych and all the nurses I've worked with started with no psych experience. You learn as you go alon

Look at some online programs! Speak with admissions. They are looking at you as a whole and why you want to pursue this area of nursing. What's your end goal?