Greendale Asylum - Chapter One

It all started when she walked through the doors of Greendale Psychiatric Hospital. She and another student had been offered the placement for their last year of mental health nursing. Greendale was one of the most esteemed psychiatric facilities in the country and had only opened its doors to students this year. It was opened in the 1800s and was previously known as Greendale Asylum, one of the biggest before changing its name to Greendale Psychiatric hospital in the late 1900s. It had been Rebecca's dream to work in a facility like this one ever since she had taken the path of a mental health nurse, she couldn't believe her luck when her cohort were given the option to use it as a placement. There were a number of people interested, she and her classmate Jessica had been the lucky ones, picked out of a hat during one of their lessons.

She was ecstatic, elated at the prospect of having her final placement here, she felt she would get some real first-hand experience finally, before qualifying as a nurse. Her previous placements had been good, but not nearly as interesting as she hoped this one would be. She found most of her placements had been based in nursing homes for the elderly or community, she didn't feel like she got to spend enough time with the patients, to really get an in-depth view into their mentally ill minds. This placement would be her longest, 12 weeks and being her last placement, she was hoping to be able to work with individuals, lead their care and manage their teams as she would when she qualified. Most of all however, was she hoped she would make a good impression, Greendale was her hometown, it would be a dream if she could get a fulltime job here, it was driving distance from her flat and she just knew she would love it.

Rebecca and Jessica, the other student, walked side by side down the cold hallways, led by a member of the administrative team. There were so many turns and corridors she was sure she would get lost here easily. She listened attentively, as the woman leading them rambled mindlessly about the history of the building, stopping mid sentences to point out different Wards and fire exits.

She followed on after Debbie as she continued her talk on the history of the building, of the different Wards, motioning at the different artwork on the walls and directing them towards the kitchen and staff rooms. She could feel the anxiety radiating from Jessica beside her as they finally came to a stop outside an office. The name on the door read, Miss Wilson, Sarah Wilson she presumed who was their named mentor for their placement. Debbie gave them a final nod before heading back towards reception, leaving both Rebecca and Jessica stood outside the office door. The blinds of the office door were closed, and the lights were off. There was a confused look between the women before Jessica approached the door, giving it a soft knock.

There was a moments silence before a strict womanly voice invited them to enter. The room was dark, the blinds blocked out all light from the room apart from the table lamp being used on the desk ahead of them. They were directed to sit in the seats in front of her, as she attempted to tidy the loose paper scattered in front of her.

'Rebecca Menzies and Jessica Daniels am I right?' she had a kind smile as she greeted them, her expression was tired, and she appeared to be trying to hide the stress in her voice. They both smiled in response as Sarah continued to speak.

'You have both been signed off in your positive behavioural support and restraint techniques. That's good, I'd like to tell you we don't have to use it much here, but unfortunately, we may expect you to take part and you may need to protect yourselves here. Of course, you will never be alone with the more high-risk patients, we have a few here that like to push boundaries, but it will be good experience for you both to manage an escalated episode.'

There was a squeak from Jessica, a strange sound she made when she wanted to get people's attention. It always caused Rebecca great irritation. 'I actually had to use restraint techniques at my last placement, I worked at a treatment and assessment unit where we had to use it a lot. I'm confident I'll be able to lead in an escalation.' She flashed a smug look at Rebecca as she spoke, Jessica had indeed had better placements than her, she boasted about her previous placement to everyone during their time back at University. Rebecca was jealous of her experience, but it didn't deter her, she welcomed the new experiences, she could adapt easily, and it wouldn't stop her from showing off her own skills. The smugness of Jessica did not go unnoticed from Sarah either.

'It's good to have experience. Do not underestimate these patients though. Not all our patients require restraint, they may not be physically violent, but it doesn't make them any less dangerous. Manipulation is popular around here, don't fall into any traps.' She smiled kindly at them both. 'I think it is best you both do a combination of days and nights whilst you are here, we haven't had students here in a long time, it would be good for you to see the difference in shifts. We do 12 hourly shifts here, I will let you choose which days you want to do; I recommend sticking to the same shift patterns, it will be good for the two of you to work together and reflect from your experiences. We have many Wards here, though I want you working on the same shifts I would rather you didn't both work the same one, try and mix it up a bit, come to me whenever you need me, I will also be on the Wards with you. The drug rounds here are all staggered so whichever Ward you will be on we will do the medication together. It may be good for you to pick the shifts where either myself or Amber is in charge, she has been a nurse here for a couple of years, she's lovely, you will learn a lot from her. I will come up with a few… side projects for you both, we'll get together the three of us every week and go through your reflections and learning. Sign off your competencies and such. I want you to just watch and learn from me today. Be my shadows. Observe the patients, it'll be interesting to see which ones you engage with better.' She smiled again, gathering the papers in front of her into a binder before standing from her desk. 'Now, let's introduce you to the Wards, shall we? The next medication round isn't until lunchtime, we have a couple of hours to show you around.'

Sarah had them follow behind her through the cold hallways of Greendale Psychiatric Hospital, showing them a few more features and Wards that Debbie had previously motioned to. She stopped before a side wing, two offices' facing one another, one empty and the other occupied by a Dr J. Kirkland, lead psychiatrist as it read on his door.

'Before we head on, may as well show you your new office for your time here.' She smiled at them both before unlocking the office door facing Dr. Kirkland's. This was just a storage room, but we managed to find a couple of desks, I thought it would be nice for you both to have somewhere to leave your things when you are on shift. As final year's you will have your own caseload's here as well, you will be given logins to the computers by IT and will be able to document your notes here after your time on the Wards.' Sarah held the door open for them, allowing them to briefly look inside the room, it was scarce, a few lockable cabinets and two desks facing one another with a chest of drawers beside each. 'You can leave your bags here, better you don't take your stuff with you on the Wards, we have a few patients who may see it as an invitation for something sinister.'

Jessica chose the desk near the window, claiming it for her own before Rebecca had even had chance to enter the room, an amused smile gracing Sarah's feature as she did so. Rebecca placed her bag on her computer chair, noticed the gold key placed by her keyboard, taking it, and putting it in her pocket. She glanced over at the office across from them, The blinds were closed but there was slight damage in the blind across from her, she could see a man, Dr Kirkland she presumed, he was in his 40s, dark greying hair and a stern appearance, deep in his notes, glancing now up towards his computer screen from what she could see from the reflection in his rectangular framed glasses.

'That is Dr. Kirkland.' Sarah's voice broke her train of thought, obviously noticing her Forward glance. 'He pretty much runs this place, it would be best to stay on his good side, he can have a bit of a temper, but I like to think he means well most of the time, not much of a people person.'

'Ironic profession, isn't it?' Jessica muttered under her breath at her statement, looking away quickly as she noticed Sarah's stern gaze. 'Come. I think it's time we toured the Wards now, don't you?' She wore a forced smile as she led them out and back into the hall, Rebecca gazed back towards Dr Kirkland once more, noticing a now empty computer chair.

The Wards were only one corridor away from their office. It was a long corridor, with four doors, two either side facing one another. The right were the female Wards and the left, the male Wards. Both split into age groups, under and over 25. 'I have divided your caseloads, Rebecca you will have 3 patients, all under 25 and Jessica, you will have over 25.

'Jessica, you and I will go onto Ward A, your female Ward, to introduce you, Rebecca, why don't you press the bell and go into Ward B, Amber should be doing your ladies medication round, I am sure she won't mind introducing you to them.' She smiled sweetly and she scanned a key card into the Ward she and Jessica disappeared into.

Rebecca was left in the corridor, anxiety creeping into her chest she looked at the door labelled B before pressing the metallic button reading 'ring bell for entry'. She waited eagerly as she could see the shadows though the shaded door windows come closer to her.