social worker

registered nurse

nursing assistant

mental health technician

chief nursing executive

Central State Hospital

A typical day at work on my shift is to go in to listen to report to what went on during the day shift, relieve the dayshift after report. Set showers up, monitoring clients, recording clients attire before he goes out on grounds, the issuance of grounds passes, escort client to nurse so he can repeat the grounds pass rules to her or him and then escort client to front door to unlock it so he can get outside. Take clients to dinner in their dining room which would be around 1700 hours or 5pm. Take them down to do their laundry, nursing note or documentation, pass out snack bags at snack time. Clients usually go to snack machine and soda machines after dinner. Take out dirty linen. Get linen from supply room if midnight shift has not done it. Report any complaints to RN and document if client has a complaint. I was in school for psychology so I have learned more from that. I have learned a lot about mental illness and the things that it entails. I feel that management could use improvement. My co-workers were good to work with but not all of them. There were really no hard parts to my job because my clients basically took care of themselves. The most enjoyable is or was working weekends and holidays being that they are human beings and somebody has to be with them 24/7 but it is usually those time that were laid back because they had no groups to go to. They were either in their rooms, watching tv especially games or out on their 48 hour passes so we weren't as busy at those times. We also had to escort our clients to the canteen in the evening where they could buy junk food, watch tv or movies, play games and go to the patient library where there is a ping pong table, a game that requires throwing a ball into these holes, cards, bingo, and listening to music.

This is a healthcare facility, first and foremost, so it has many of the pros and cons that often come with that. There are definitely extra, unique challenges that come with taking care of patients who have severe mental illness. Some of those things you can anticipate, some you have to learn from working in this environment. Overall, there are far more staff who believe deeply in the value of the work they do and the critically important service they provide than not, but the staff that don't get it or just don't care can definitely make the job difficult.

There is also a certain level of bureaucracy and politics that influence how many processes work. Unfortunately, this seems to just be part of working for state government, but the current administrative team is very focused on workforce development and improving work culture, so there is a lot of interest in applying feedback and trying to make meaningful changes.

In the end, working for Central State Hospital can provide some fantastic benefits--great medical/dental/vision insurance, retirement plans, lots of paid holidays, sick/personal time banks--which can help you plan for the future while also maintaining a healthy work/life balance. But, you have to be realistic about the environment and work, and you have to engage with it. It's not a place you can just "show up" and act like you've earned your paycheck. 

Administration is very unprofessional, they pick favorites among lower level staff and let them get away with nearly anything while punishing other staff for doing the same thing. Can you say “favoritism”! There is no maternity or paternity leave unless you use your own accrued time, which takes forever to accrue. Rules change frequently and there is a HUGE lack of communication among staff and/or administration. First shift thinks they’re better than every other shift. Overall it is a very stressful job with little benefits, they don’t pay enough and they will write you up and/or fire you for the smallest most insignificant stuff. Also if a patient attacks you or tries to, you’re not allowed to defend yourself or fight back or else you’ll be fired. Supposedly you get a “raise “after 90 days, the first six months, the second six months, then annually but I have worked here for almost a year and haven’t seen more than a few extra cents here and there. The staff are so brainwashed about doing overtime to make over $800 each paycheck that they are constantly overworked and tired from doing multiple 16-hour shifts back to back. Administration looks for things to write you up for and if they can’t find anything that is actually a problem they find something that doesn’t even matter to complain about. Hopefully this review helps someone to not experience this job the way I have, unless you like constantly being stressed out, constantly contemplating calling out of work, and having almost no benefits and making the bare minimum pay.

Dealing with the forensic population is a nice area of Nursing. However, the most difficult area of managing employees that had no respect for Registered Nurses. I have been a RN for a long time , However nothing prepared me for  the vicious, hateful and vindictive and jealous behavior of those employees . Those employees the older one's that were their for years were great except those in bldg. 96 and 39 .  If you are an RN do not go to Central State Hospital they will write you up send your name to the nursing board and treat you in the most inhumane way. No one can protect you.  The issue is none of the technicians are certified technicians, the only requirement is a High School Diploma. RN's are scared of the Technicians due to their lying , manipulative behavior of constantly trying to set Nurses up . Only go to Central State if you are a Supervisor then you can create change or at lease protect your Nursing license. The area is in a run down section of Petersburg , the " Technicians called it the ghetto". Unfortunately all of the "Gangster Behavior" could be avoided if those Technicians were Shifted to another unit . Unfortunately too long in the same area causing too much corruption and misery continues to be a pattern without any positive result. Central State needs new direction in order for it to enter the 21century.

•	Classified, sorted, filed, transferred and retrieved documents according to policy
•	Assisting administrative staff in obtaining mental health clients’ charts
•	Catalogued mental health clients’ files
•	Collected and compiled information from medical records for reports
•	Reviewed and transcribed physician orders
•	Performed monthly chart audits for unacceptable abbreviations, verify verbal orders, improper corrections and ensured all information was accurate according to policy
•	Provided assistance to staff pertaining to medical records and transportation issues
•	Entered data into system for clinic appointments for clients within the unit
•	Scheduled appointments daily
•	Maintained confidentiality of records; releases information internally according to CSH guidelines/policy
•	Processed billings, invoices and processed reimbursement claims requested by clients. 
•	Followed-up customers regarding past-due invoices and billings and worked out a plan to help them avoid incur arrears and penalties. 
•	Documented and updated patient database. 
•	Responded to patient inquiries regarding billing issues and statement problems.
•	Perform monthly chart audits
•	Ensure that Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance pre-cert. are in chart.
•	Maintain Mental Health Planning Listing for the hospital.

- A typical day at work consisted of executing security procedures, conducting client activities, escorting clients within buildings, transporting clients to and from special activities on and off campus, providing thorough documentation of all daily activities, participate in treatment team, and implement behavior and aggression plan.

- I learned how to use therapeutic communication at work and in my personal life,this skill helped me work as a team to ensure mental wellness for all the clients and unity with my co-workers. Central State Hospital has taught me how to work under mental and physical pressure when dealing with excessively, aggressive, clients on a daily basis. 

- Central State Hospital provides the upmost care for their clients and excellent treatment plans

- My co-worker always worked as a team and never hesitated to communicate when a problem or error was present.

- The hardest part was using a certification technique called TOVA when restraining a physically aggressive patient.

- The most enjoyable part was making a postive difference in a client's day when they could be having a problem or just reaching out for someone to talk to.

I will wither work on the floor as a staff nurse or as house supervisor. I balance out staffing according to the needs of the unit. i try to schedule employees to fill in staffing holes. I supervise staff to ensure duties are performed according to policy. I speak with patient families and ensure them that their family member is being taken care of.I speak with security to provide a safe environment for the hospital. I do staff teaching on hospital policy and procedures. I make rounds to ensure that staff  are at their assigned duties and the unit is calm. I meet the needs of staff and patients by providing assistance in nursing skills . 
 I have acquired many skills in management of staff and patients. I have learned to stay calm in stressful situations. 
   Management is a great help. They are always there to assist, and provide guidance. 
  The hardest  part of the job is dealing with patients when the become agitated, The most enjoyable part is speaking with the patients.

Overall, a good place to work. Typical work duties were standard for nursing. Meds, assessment, charting, with focus on mental health. Managers were willing to work with staff for scheduling, for LPNs (other staff members may not have had the same benefit of a flexible schedule). Compensation was great, but the benefits were horrible. Job security was great as long as you didn't "rock the boat" for certain people in management. No issues so long as you kept your head down, did your job, and did not pay any attention to the rumor mill. However, not many opportunities for advancement as an LPN, other than managers giving you scheduling flexibility if you went back to school (not all managers did this though). Management was actually really good. My unit manager was amazing and I miss working for her on that unit. Upper management was confusing at times, as it seemed like people came and went pretty fast. Job culture was okay. Most problems stemmed from the rumor mill, and people wanting to cause drama. But if you didn't pay them any attention, and kept your focus on helping the patients, the job felt rewarding.

A typical day on job is having to put up with people always saying something about racial.If I learn anything its when I go to class because there is so much going on where I work til u just have to go to work and basically stay to yourself..Management is just out of control and want nobody do anything about it.. So much unfairness going on, you try to talk to someone about it and they say I KNOW and never do nothing about... Co-Workers they rare the one that keep so much drama going on.. Scared one gonna do more than the other.. They will say I don't care what they gonna do fire me ,they gonna send me home anyway in a couple months when they shut us down {just a bad attitude}... There is really no hard part about my job. I enjoy my job. Its just the people you have to work with sometimes that makes the job so hard to go to... I have been at Central State Hospital almost 26 years and I hope to make it to my retirement... The most enjoyable part about my job is knowing that I have a job to go to every day so I can have the money to meet the needs for my family.. So I can have the money to give the LORD want I owe to him which is 10% of my earning... I am off every weekend so I can go to Church on Sunday...

A typical day at work would include preparing the paperwork from the fax machine and overnight report sent through Microsoft Outlook for my boss by 8:30am.  Checking in with all 36 supervisors who work with my boss to assure deadlines are met.  Review the mail and distribute it accordingly.  Handle all incoming calls and redirect to the appropriate supervisors.  Review the policies on the intranet and notify my boss if updates are needed.  Upload all necessary information about our department on the Intranet.  Create meeting calendars, order supplies and set up travel arrangements for all supervisors.  

I learned how to manage my time in order to complete all daily task.  
I work with a wonderful group of managers who understand that my annoying emails keep our department on schedule.  I have great co-workers that I can rely and vice versa.  We cover each other when needed.  I have been on my job for almost twenty years so there is nothing hard about it.  

The most enjoyable part of my job is that my days go by quick because of the workload.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Social worker 1 salary reported	$37,500 per year
Registered nurse 1 salary reported	$60,000 per year
Nursing assistant 1 salary reported	$21.00 per hour
Mental health technician 1 salary reported	$15.00 per hour
Chief nursing executive 1 salary reported	$129,241 per year

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