Dear RN's, 

I speak for all MHC's when I say thank you. 

You are the unsung heroes that make our tiny locked adolescent mental health unit running. You are the silver light to reel the psychiatrist in when she goes on a rant about a patients' Vitamin D levels during report. You throw yourselves into the mist of the shift behind yours, so the mental health counselors (MHC) can leave on time. You are the ones who balance med time, an admission at the door, a restless unit, while trying to answer the doctor's questions. For all you do, we thank you. 

Working on a pediatric psychiatric unit is a tough gig. Working the day shift on the unit can be stressful, overwhelming, and rewarding all at the same time. RN's main responsibility is to maintain the entire unit, while ensuring everyone's safety (including staff). Balancing all the tasks of running the floor of a psychiatric unit adds an entirely new level of stress to the "typical"� RN schedule. From what I have witnessed working first and second shift is, the RN's never back down to an overloaded shift. They never quiver with worry, and they never turn away from a challenge. Running short staffed due to a sick call with two admissions lined up, one on 1:1, three on five minuet checks, and its med time? Not a problem for these highly trained RN's. The amount of work these humans do is incredible. Trying to interact with adolescents who were (sometimes) sent to in-patient unwillingly, is not the easiest route for an RN. However, throughout all the difficulties, the RN's on the unit go above and beyond to make new admit feel welcomed. From running a patient specified cooking group, to finding a teddy bear stashed away in a large Tupperware bin, the warm hearts of the RN's shine through each and every day.

Being an RN is difficult. Being an RN, trying to adapt your life to a bat schedule is not for the faint of heart. As an overnight MHC, I can contest to the amount of work and effort these RN's provide to ensure the unit is ready for the upcoming day. With the endless amount of paperwork, admissions,  assisting any patient if needed, while ensuring the unit is free of any daily mistakes, the work RN's do is time consuming. I have seen the RN's sacrifice personal time beyond their shift to ensure the MHC's have time for a break, are not overworked, and have enough time to complete their MHC duties to ensure they leave their shift on time. Viewing our unit from the outside in, you can see the amount of respect we have for each other. This extra level of respect, makes out unit run smooth. 

RN's, I write you this open letter of gratitude to thank you for the countless hours you put in for the unit. For treating us all with respect, and putting others before yourself (while standing on one leg, jumping up and down, and balancing twenty plates on your head).

A special shout out to H., E., A., K., D., and M., for the countless sacrifices you have made to the unit. 

We thank you, 

MHC's