Jen, I agree with what you write about having been on the "other side" of the health care system. I never actually worked in a psych ward though. But I was a health care worker (I am an occupational therapist (as you know...))It is true that there is a "us-them" mentality. It is a survival mekanism, because as an health-care worker you have to deal with so many patients, and you try to do your best, most professinal work for every one, but there is never enough time! It leads to guilt and feelings of being unethical and unprofessional, but one has to work inside a framework that frankly is too narrow for both the professional and for the patients! So how do you cope with that? I think one of the ways is to find a way to make some distance between yourself and the patients. Survival for a healthcare worker in order to not suffer complete burn-out. But is is something that is dangerous at the same time, because that kind of distancing yourself, can come in the way of showing compassion and being an ethical professional.
Suddenly becoming the patient was VERY hard for me, beacuse I had to make a swich in the role of being the helper, to the one being helped.