Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Schizophrenia: They are on an island of their own

Debbie Moore-Black, RN
Conditions
December 18, 2020
Share
Tweet
Share

I knocked on his door. It was 8:30 pm—medication time.

Jerome slowly opened his door. He was easily over 6 feet tall. Towering over my 4′ 11.5″ self. Naked. Eye to eye with his penis.

He chanted, “You ain’t a bitch. You ain’t a ho … you my wife.”

OK Jerome, take your medicine.

I’ve entered a new dimension of nursing.

After 30 plus years as an ICU nurse, I thought I’d ride out behavioral health until my retirement in one year. I thought it would be easy.
What I didn’t realize was that we have a most complicated mind. All of us.

I smiled during my interview. I told them what they wanted to hear. And I was in.

Day after day. This was the psychotic unit: psychotic, schizophrenic, bipolar, all of the above. Medication was sometimes our only hope.
It’s cold outside. Wintertime. The homeless know what to say. On the streets, our hospital, our behavioral health unit is like the Hilton.

New scrubs, private rooms, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. A shower. And medications to calm you down, to help you sleep, to make those voices in your head disappear for a moment. The voices that say kill, kill, kill. The voices that tell you you’re no good. Cut yourself deeper, faster. Jump off the bridge, run into traffic. Anything to make the voices go away.

Marlene is 52. She likes methamphetamines. She has multiple husbands, and she’s pregnant with the baby Jesus. And screams a blood-chilling scream in the middle of the night.

We rush to her side. She bangs her head repeatedly against the wall. It’s hard to deescalate a psychotic. Medication is your only friend. Haldol, Zyprexa, Ativan, Thorazine. Take your pick.

Our heroes are public safety. We push a button or call the number stat, and they are there. All of them rush to our side to protect us. This is not a prison. This is a Behavioral health unit. And each day, we say a prayer that there won’t be violence. That there won’t be an assault. That we won’t have to put someone in seclusion. That we aren’t forced to use 4-point restraints.

These are the misfits. The homeless. The non-compliants. They know when it’s cold outside. They can no longer cope. We are their friend. Their protector.

ADVERTISEMENT

Schizophrenia. A strange and exotic disease. They are on an island of their own.

What have I gotten myself into?

Debbie Moore-Black is a nurse who blogs at Do Not Resuscitate.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Teenagers, sleep, and the global pandemic

December 18, 2020 Kevin 0
…
Next

We finally have a COVID vaccine. Now what?

December 18, 2020 Kevin 1
…

Tagged as: Psychiatry

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Teenagers, sleep, and the global pandemic
Next Post >
We finally have a COVID vaccine. Now what?

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Debbie Moore-Black, RN

  • What money can’t fix: the scars left by a friend

    Debbie Moore-Black, RN
  • A retired ICU nurse’s brunch conversation sparks a life-changing moment

    Debbie Moore-Black, RN
  • Wisdom for new nurses: lessons from a 30-year ICU veteran

    Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Related Posts

  • Treating schizophrenia with long-acting injectables

    Greg Smith, MD
  • A call for more handicap accessible options for homeless patients in Rhode Island

    Cara Zimmerman, MD
  • Qualifying conditions for medical marijuana

    Patricia Frye
  • Settlements in the opioid cases need these non-negotiable conditions

    Rosanne Aulino, RN
  • What does Kelly Loeffler’s health plan do to coverage for preexisting conditions?

    Robert Laszewski
  • Nurses Week. Always and forever.

    Debbie Moore-Black, RN

More in Conditions

  • Affordable postpartum hemorrhage solutions every OB/GYN should know

    Frank I. Jackson, DO
  • How are prostate exams done and why you shouldn’t avoid them

    Martina Ambardjieva, MD, PhD
  • Airlines’ policy ignores your do not resuscitate (DNR): Discover why and some ways to protect yourself

    Althea Halchuck, EJD
  • How coaching transforms care for people with multiple sclerosis

    Jessica Singh, MD and Liz Kiniry
  • Integrating vitamin education in mental health care

    Scarlett Saitta
  • Mumps orchitis still causes infertility years after childhood

    Oluyemisi Famuyiwa, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • How AI, animals, and ecosystems reveal a new kind of intelligence

      Fateh Entabi, MD | Tech
    • Why kratom addiction is the next public health crisis

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Meds
    • A physician employment agreement term that often tricks physicians

      Dennis Hursh, Esq | Finance
    • Confronting the return of measles and vaccine misinformation [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden reason your vacations never feel like enough

      Kent DeLay, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • When medicine surrenders to ideology

      Anonymous | Physician
    • How just culture can reduce burnout and boost health care staff retention

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why embracing imperfection makes you truly unforgettable

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Physician
    • Affordable postpartum hemorrhage solutions every OB/GYN should know

      Frank I. Jackson, DO | Conditions
    • Why kratom addiction is the next public health crisis

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Meds
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • How AI, animals, and ecosystems reveal a new kind of intelligence

      Fateh Entabi, MD | Tech
    • Why kratom addiction is the next public health crisis

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Meds
    • A physician employment agreement term that often tricks physicians

      Dennis Hursh, Esq | Finance
    • Confronting the return of measles and vaccine misinformation [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden reason your vacations never feel like enough

      Kent DeLay, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • When medicine surrenders to ideology

      Anonymous | Physician
    • How just culture can reduce burnout and boost health care staff retention

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why embracing imperfection makes you truly unforgettable

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Physician
    • Affordable postpartum hemorrhage solutions every OB/GYN should know

      Frank I. Jackson, DO | Conditions
    • Why kratom addiction is the next public health crisis

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Meds
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...