-> Tell us about your background …

- After a Bac D (Life Sciences and Earth), I made one years of medicine I have not validated. As I wanted to work in the medical sector, but this track was too tedious, I preferred to redirect a school nurse in psychiatry.
Today, this training is over, it has been replaced by a diploma in nursing and a specialization in psychiatry. The course of psychiatric nurse was special because we were paid by a hospital where they worked on morning. The afternoon was devoted to theoretical courses.
After this school, I did a postgraduate degree in sociology with a specialization in sociology and ethnology of the Maghreb and Black Africa. Then I trained as a family therapist.
Finally, I spent a DESU (Diploma of Higher Studies University) in clinical practice with migrant families (ethnology and psychiatry), during which I prepared a thesis in ethnology Psychiatry in Clinical Psychology.

-> Did you have to complete internships during the school?

- Yes, besides the fact that we work every morning, we had to do the same courses as other nursing students. They were held in various hospital and also in schools (kindergartens and primary schools …)

-> Now, can you describe your career?

- It’s pretty simple, because once completed my studies, I continued to work for the psychiatric hospital that paid me during my training. I’m one year in this institution, then I was seconded to a community mental health center for children and adolescents, depending on the hospital. I worked for 20 years … until my retirement this year.

-> Why did you choose this career?

- For the sole reason that I am passionate madness. Initially, I wanted to become a psychiatrist, but he must go through the medical sector to achieve … and as I told you it was too long and too tedious. For this reason, after a year of medical school, I changed direction to achieve faster to work in the industry that interested me.

-> What is the work of a psychiatric nurse?

- To summarize, make supportive individual psychotherapy, family or groups. My specialty is the migrant families. The audience that I touched could be likened to everything from psychological distress. It is a teamwork and networking, where we will conduct prevention activities. For example, we made presentations in community centers, in schools, but also in maternity.

-> If you were to list the qualities of a psychiatric nurse, what would they be?

- Having good mental balance, a lot of empathy and curiosity. Then be tolerant and open-mindedness, because it faces a very large audience with very different issues and sometimes very serious. Finally, I would say that we should be able to recover perpetually in question and whether the advice we give people are really more appropriate.

-> What are your prospects?

- Actually, I’m retired, but I’m still working … Actually, I still do training, transmission as I like to say. I speak a lot in schools and among professionals.

-> What advice would you give to students interested in this business?

- Before entering, they must be sure that it is a passion with them. Such a profession is very challenging physically and psychologically. You see a lot of people crack after a few years. Then, much work and psychology, something I have not done and that I regretted later, read many books about the clinic.
Finally, I must say I was lucky during my training, to be sponsored by highly skilled professionals. This is unfortunately not always the case.
So if you can, then I would advise you to go to people who have experience and refer to them. This is how we learn the most.