Psychiatric Technician Assistant 

(Female, Age 39) from porterville, NY

This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 39 who works as a Psychiatric Technician Assistant in porterville, NY. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.

At a Glance

Current Job

Basic data on your current job

Job Title Psychiatric Technician Assistant
Salary $28,070
Other Compensation None Set
Hours/Week 40
Company Size (not answered)
Location porterville, NY
Years Experience 12 years

Career Ratings

Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)

Years in Career 0
Education (not answered)
Income Rating 0 / 10
Interest Rating 0 / 10
Work-Life Rating 0 / 10
Fulfilment Rating 0 / 10

Current job Q&A

Describe the type of organization you work for.
State developmental facility

Describe your job role and responsibilities.
Provide safety, coices, active treatmemt to high functioning developmentally disabled individuals

Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
vision, dental, medical, retirement

Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
adequate

Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Yes. Sometimes i like it, but sometimes i would like to be left to do things my way with no interferences

Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes

Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes

Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
Facility. We recently moved to a new unit, and i dont like how much it echoes.

Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 1
Benefits: 6
Hours: 2
Co-Workers: 5
Supervisors: 4
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 7
The Actual Work: 3

A day in the life of…

Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:

5am to 6am
6am to 7am
7am to 8am Not my shift
8am to 9am Not my shift.
9am to 10am Not my shift
10am to 11am Not my shift
11am to 12pm Not my shift.
12pm to 1pm Not my shift.
1pm to 2pm Showering, choosing clothes, completing personal hygeine tasks
2pm to 3pm Drove to physician appointment. Got here a little bit early to be sure I am not late. I have been off work due to L4 and L5 bulging disks. I’ going to find out today if I can return to work. My appointment is at 3:10. I haven’ been able to stand for any length of time, or walk over 10 yards without pain across my lower back and down my legs. While sitting, my legs go numb, and I have fallen in the shower on more than one occasion because my legs thought it would be “fun” to give out on me wih no warning.
3pm to 4pm Sitting in the exam room waiting for the doctor. It’s after my appointment time. I hate waiting like this, especially when I got here early just to be sure I was on time.
4pm to 5pm Doctor finally came in… at 4:30! Well over an hour after my appointment time. Unprofessional. He bent and twisted me, had me move beyond my comfort level, and rushed me out the door. Unprofessional and disrespectful. Placed me off duty until September 12, 2012.
5pm to 6pm Sitting hurts, standing causes pain, and I don’t even want to think about walkng. I have no pain medications, was never prescribed any. My physical therapy is finished. I have excellent insurance, and can’t even get pain medication… rediculous.
6pm to 7pm I miss work. Right now, I would be holding a group. Group is when all my residents, high functioning developmentally disabled teens, come together in the living room area of thw unit for a teaching interaction. Some days, it’s Money Management, others it might be Social Skills, Anger Management, or other skolls they will need for community living after leaving the facility. I have fun groups. I don’t just drone on and on, I get into it, act goofy, and really draw them into it too.
7pm to 8pm Right now, we would be having leisure time and unit store. Leisure is when they can bring out video games, etc, into the group area, and play them while they spend ppints earned for apprppriate behavior and good choices accumulated from previpus days weels and momths in tje imot store for snacks, goods, and items not already provided by the facolotu.
8pm to 9pm We would be passing medications with teaching interactions about them, asking the residents to identify each medication, its use, and and possible side effects, while having a peers group. Peers group is where the residents get to pick a different appropriate topic each night to discuss among themselves, much like they would in a social situation, or are allowed to air grievances in a controlled manner with staff acting as mediators. At 8:45, they begin tidying up the group area, like they would their own living room before retiring to bed for he night at 9:00.
9pm to 10pm At 9:00 they go to their rooms for personal reflection time. This is just a fancy term someone at the facility came up with meaning going ovwr their day, where they could have made better choices, and whAere they did really well. They are not expected to go right to sleep, but it is expected that they respect the person in the room next to them by keeping the volume of radios and televisions down.

At this time, staff begom charting the happenings pf the day. Each resident has their own chart. We chart both positive and negative behaviors, medical conditions, and ongoing conditions.

10pm to 11pm We are usually still charting at this time if it has been a hectic afternoon. If it had been a pretty mellow shift, we’re finished charting, and are dping periodic roo checls to be sure everyone is where they are supppsed to be, and are otherwise kicking back, relaxing and unwinding before the end of shift waoting to go home.
11pm to 12am 11:15 os when we would be walking out the doors and not lookimg back for another night, car keys in hand and ready tp drive.

Table of Contents

How you got your job

How did you get your current job?
Ive always known it was there, it was just a matter of getting the appropriate trainings

What was the application process?
submit an application, go through the three interview process

Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes. Three interviews with various questions.

If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
Not allowed to reveal that. Confidentiality statement was signed.

Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes. We were given a two week orientation before a one week on the job mentor

Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Yes.I had to attend a thirteen week theory/clinical course, then pass a state board exam to receive my licensing, which I have to renew every two years.

Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes. We had both thepry and clinical practice, and would not be able to work if we did not pass the state exam

If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
N/A

If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Take the appropriate course and fill out an application during the last week of class

What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Definately technical and social skills

Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
yes

What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
You’re not going to change the world

Long-term career plans

Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Yes. I plan on continuing my education and becoming a psychiatric technician

What are your current career goals?
Obtaining my pt license

Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
Eventually, i would like to move from developmental services to mental health

Prior work history

Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:

Title Length Salary Description
Prior Job 1 cna 2 yrs 7.75 Meet needs of residents
Prior Job 2 cna 2 yrs 6.75 Meet needs of residents

Ask a Question of this Mentor

This mentor has opted to receive questions from people interested in this career or job position. Please be respectful of their time and willingness to help. Include some basic relevant background so they can intelligently answer your question.