Socialization and Deviance
When patients are admitted to the psychiatric unit, they are given an ‘orientation’ to the ward, meaning we give them a patient pamphlet and a tour of the unit. The pamphlet gives the patients information such as visiting hours, the number to the payphone for family members to call them as well as our mission statement; their rights as a patient and other information that is pertinent to them during their inpatient stay. Some of the patients that are admitted are what we call “Frequent Flyers” meaning that they have been admitted to our unit many times before. We also have patients that are new to the VA system due to being returning Iraqi veterans. Part of giving the patients a tour of the unit is introducing them to other patients and explaining to them how the unit is run. On the psychiatric floor we offer groups, like med education and DBT groups. There are other programs that are mandatory for them to attend such as certain recreational groups and the Spirituality group that is run by Reverend Brown. By giving the patients an orientation and explaining some of the policies of the unit, they are made aware of what their participation in their care and their treatment planning will be. These are just some of the socialization aspects of the psychiatric setting on 7 East.
Patients are expected to be up at 0830 for what is called ‘morning formation’, this is only Monday through Friday, on the weekends they are able to sleep in but must be up for 0900 medications . During morning formation the patients are informed of the staff that are available to them that day, the mandatory groups and any appointments that they may have elsewhere in the hospital. Due to variations of our census on the unit, not every patient must adhere to the rules and policies on a day-to-day basis; this is because we are beginning to receive returning veterans from the Iraqi war, and many of them are being examined as case studies which means that...