I work as a direct-care mental health worker on a acute, locked inpatient unit for bipolar and other psychotic disorders at a free-standing psych hospital. I've been there for a little over eight years. Wasn't my plan initially. Was just looking for experience with patients/medicine for med school and psych was the easiest/cheapest to get into as compared to EMT and other tech positions. Due to various things happening in my life, I'm still here. Overall, I'm genuinely grateful for the experiences I've had and I've loved working with thousands of patients over the years. I'm just getting progressively more and more burnt out. Staff I've come to love working with keep leaving for bigger and better things and I'm still there. Plus, I've stagnated in terms of personal growth and learning. There's very little left without moving on. But it's hard.