I've got a good one for this week picked out already if you don't mind, Rich.

After missing last week, I believe we decided on Bad Movie Night at my place at 8:30. I guess I'll pick the movie since I haven't picked for a while.

Yeah, my experience with locked units matches up with Leo's. Formal patients (who qualify as both flight risks and risks of harming self or others) are generally in there. And while going into one of these rooms alone without telling anyone you're going isn't the best of ideas, it's probably not as dangerous as you'd think. Even the patients who have a history of being aggressive (like the 6'9" schizophrenic that I had to do an admission history/physical on) are medically restrained if they pose a danger.

But yeah, still, not the best of ideas. Then again, they do have those little personal alarm things for students...

thought I'd chime in on this one...!
a person can be on a locked or closed unit for a variety of reasons, be it flight risk, risk of harming themselves or others, or program enforcement (especially for patients who aren't there willingly). If a person is on suicide watch (or if they're being aggressive) sometimes patients are put into a seclusion room, and/or with a constant staff member watching them.

But yeah, doors should generally stay open if you're with a patient especially if you don't know the patient and if they're of the opposite sex...

aren't you on the lockdown unit if you are able to cause harm to anyone? why else would they lock you in on the floor?

Wouldn't it depend what he was in lockdown for? Obviously, I know very little about this, but could you be in lockdown for, say, suicide watch?

paras, i don't know what they teach you in med school, but if a patient is on the lock down unit of a psych unit, do you really think it's safe for a small asian girl to go into the room with the patient and close the door for a patient interview?

i thought you med student interns were smarter than that. she didn't even tell the nurse she was going in!!!!!! i saw her take the chart, get the patient, and go into his room with him and close the door!!!!!

If you need something to read then go here.

Just because this board needs some spicing up