social worker

recreation assistant

order picker

resident care associate

recreation therapist

Eastern State Hospital

A typical day at Eastern State included going to my assigned unit and doing a census of new patients coming into the hospital. I would make contact and depending on indivduals state of mind, doing an assessment. Teaching classess 5 times daily and being prepared with handouts or computer material. Challenges were presented throughout day with confrontations, resentment from being committed, variety of mental concerns and having to always be on guard. I have learned alot, a few examples may include: people would almost rather admit to having cancer than having a mental illness,not to force a conversation if an individual avoids eye contact, always keep an eye on male and female friendships, do not talk down to patients, and the most important thing that you can do for anyone is to give them Respect. I thought our management was good in our department, always listened to suggestions and opinions.
Co-workers were great, supportive and good friends. The hardest part of the job was seeing repetitive returns from patients that most often stopped taking their medication and returned to the hospital. The most enjoyable part was watching the transformation take place from nonfunctioning or hopeless individuals to a more stable person who did not return to the hospital.

I was employed by Eastern State Hospital approximately 18 years ago.  In recent years I understand the facility has been focused on strengthening its work force and morale.  I felt that the upper management was divisive and created strife among the professional staff.   I very much enjoyed working at Western State Hospital and Central State Hospital which had nurturing cultures missing at Eastern State Hospital.
The most difficult part of my job was assigning tasks to staff.  Communication was poor and at times we were not informed of staff call-ins or patient appointments in a timely manner.  I found that upper management was less than professional in many aspects,  possibly due to being promoted beyond their level of expertise.
The most enjoyable part of the job was working with my client population and working with the treatment team to develop plans of care for the clients.  Members of the treatment team were competent and professional and appeared invested in the most optimal outcome for the clients. The population with whom I worked frequently made slow but rewarding progress.

There was no typical day at Eastern State Hospital. The patients are very unstable and unpredictable. I was employed there for 4 1/2 years. First as a Mental Health Associate and then as a RN when I obtained my degree. The biggest thing that I learned working there was how to work under stressful situations. I also deeply expanded my communication skills. The hardest part of the job was working with acutely mentally ill patients with very little staff. There were many nights when the hospital was 20 or more staff members short making it very hard to accomplish my duties and provide excellent patient care. The most enjoyable part was the occasions when I felt like I was actually making a difference for the patients or when one of your patients finally began to have a break through. Overall the management does the best they can but as mentioned above every situation is made that much more difficult by the low staffing numbers. I finally decided to end my time at Eastern State because I was placed in numerous situations in which I felt my safety was in jeopardy. I also have a strong desire to enhance my nursing career in a medical setting that Eastern State cannot offer to me.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Helping people who are challenged with mental illness 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The lack of support and the cult like atmosphere. Think as I think and do as I do or you will not last as an employee. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It is comparable to taking 1 week of high wire lessons and then being put out there with no net below. When you are a stand out being recognized kind of employee, and everyone loves you once you do one thing that may be questionable. Then you are on the list of those to get rid of. It does not take them long once they want you out you are out.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Busy from the moment you walk onto the floor one day runs into the next is difficult to complete task in one shift. It is high stress and sometimes it is difficult to feel like you’re a part of a team. There’s a lot of expectation, but most training is emphasized on nursing the rest of the departments out there on their own.

Used to work here, and came in with a lot of high expectations.  I worked in a different hospital before, and expected this to be a step up.  It was definitely not.  Everyone in my department suffered from extreme burn out.  They could not hire employees fast enough to deal with the mass amount of people quitting.  The hospital environment was extremely restricting of patients, and their freedoms were very limited.  Patients can't walk around anywhere without a staff member beeping them through a doorway, which does nothing to promote self-actualization, confidence, and responsibility.  I would never recommend sending a client here.  Safety is my number one priority, and I can't believe this place ever passed any kind of inspection.  Despite what I was told when I was hired, employees did not always have access to a radio or phone to call for help, which is the most basic of needs when working in a psychiatric hospital.  I never ever felt safe there, and was required to work by myself with as many as 30 patients on a frequent basis.

This is a state psychiatric facility and has the types of patients living in it one might expect. Look, where I came from was so incredibly toxic and abusive. I am happy with this place. I have good pay, regular bonuses, a manager that leaves me alone but is available if I need something, great benefits, and a job where I’m learning and I’m challenged, yet able to use established skills. I’m off evenings, nights and holidays. Every job has its pros and cons, but overall, I’m pretty happy. The key is not expecting perfection from any job and choosing your battles. The hospital itself seems to make an effort to value its employees: they feed us regularly - staff appreciation bbq, ice cream socials, stuff like that quite often. I think it’s great. They don’t want to lose their employees and it shows they’re trying, I think. They also make a point to appreciate all the disciplines throughout the year. I like the history of the place and the mission. I enjoy the patients. I like Williamsburg. 

There’s no work life balance. You do stuff that probably isn’t the most ethical (i.e. changing patients/bathing them) which as a DSA you’re not train to do nor are certified to do it but they expect you to do it. I learned by watching someone else do it.. You are severely underpaid for the work you’re doing. Constant 16hr shifts will make you stay so they can send out the next shift. Don’t care about you as a person your just another body on the floor. I was hit on multiple occasions, sprayed with a fire hydrant, spat on; all by patients. They give you a whistle to use in case of emergencies and you need some one yeah that rarely works cause I blew mine when I was getting sprayed by the fire hydrant and no one came so. Work here at your own discretion.

A large institution with many means and disciplines and aids to support patients in their efforts to recover. A typical day at work would involve receiving report, going onto the assigned unit, and beginning the work of shift charge nurse.  The hardest part of the job was maintaining peace and calm; it was also the most rewarding part of the job.  The most enjoyable part of the job was to see a smile on the face of a patient when you were able to encourage them with words such as "good job", "thank you for being so helpful". It was also encouraging to have relate to you that you have done a good job. I learned a great deal about crisis management and prevention.  I was always impressed with the caliber of Nurse Managers and Administrators who were highly educated and able to keep a well-run nursing program.

I loved my job until mandatory overtime became a daily occurrence. I worked night shift but pretty much every morning they were short LPNs so I would be stuck even though there would be 3-4 RNs coming into work, they just didn't feel that they should have to pass medications. You are not appreciated unless you have RN behind your name and there is no room for growth. Also, if you aren't an RN you might as well forget getting any type of help from the RN charge nurse on the unit. They won't help you get vitals or anything, you are on your own. Some mornings I would have 15 patients who needed vitals and would run back and forth getting vitals and giving meds. If you want to be in an environment where you're unappreciated and taken advantage of and have no home life or life outside of work, this is the place for you!

Nursing management and upper management big liars, you can get fired for being sick, they allow the patients to do whatever, staff and mostly nurses are very dumb. Not even sure how most of the nurses got degrees. If you miss a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday no matter bc what even if you are sick and about to lose your life they will make you make up those days at a later date. Nursing management makes a new policy up every week. It’s never consistent. The pay sucks no matter how much experience you can you will be poor working here lol. They constantly bribe the employees by having incentives to make them work more OT. They are not hiring regular staff mostly only agencies are employed here. They allow the patients to beat on you and it’s okay. There is never any action given to patients. Treatment team and doctors are incompetent. Oh the list can go on for days. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Social worker 7 salaries reported	$64,844 per year
Recreation assistant 1 salary reported	$18.80 per hour
Order picker 10 salaries reported	$29.50 per hour
Resident care associate 4 salaries reported	$18.80 per hour
Recreation therapist 1 salary reported	$24.55 per hour

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