[Stargazer]

And the groovy part is that the "ignore" feature works even after they get their username and avatar changed. Multiple times.

[baseline]

[psychonurse]

When I first read that post I was so irritated and all I wanted to do is express my feelings on line.....well if I would have done that I would have been banned cause some of my thoughts were not the greatest in the world. I have now calmed down well enough to put my words on paper and pen so to speak.

I have worked in corrections for 13 years and I would not ever go back to hospital nursing. I have taken care of patients on the outside that gets upset with you if it takes to long to get them a cup of tea when you are in the next room trying to save someones life. I have worked with doctors that are sooo arrogant and that thinks that they are God themselves and we should be greatful that they are there. Well one thing in corrections, most of the physicians know that it is the nurses that keep them afloat, we are thier eyes and ears and we can see what is going on with the inmates. There have been times that I have called the doctors with just one of those "gut" feelings that we have and tell them that we need to send someone out cause of our feelings. The next day the doctor comes up and tells you what a great job that you did cause if you would have sat on your hands the inmate would have died.

I also like corrections cause it is the place that I have found nurses that will all work together more than any place that I have been before. When the day starts falling apart I have never had very many of the people that I work with say..."that is your section of inmates not mine....you need to take care of that." It is the greatest teamwork that I have ever found and I hope the person that started this thread finds some place that she likes to work and stops lambasting other people that like correctional nursing.

[sjoe]

psycho writes: "I also like corrections cause it is the place that I have found nurses that will all work together more than any place that I have been before."

And if they don't, the results will immediately be seen in the staff-splitting and manipulation of those who are most vulnerable--to the detriment of everyone. As I mentioned earlier, Bud Allen's "Games Criminals Play" is the best book I have read on the subject. (And I learned about the book on this BB, to give due credit.)

Here is a quote from that book: "People who resign from the correctional profession never state inmate pressure as their reason for leaving. However, it has been estimated that between thirty to forty percent of them terminate their employment rather than have their supervisors and peers discover they have been victimized by inmates."

If the leg irons fit....

[OBNURSEHEATHER]

Originally posted by Stargazer
And the groovy part is that the "ignore" feature works even after they get their username and avatar changed. Multiple times.

Really? Cool!

[Nadine RN]

I did a stint as a student in a placement in corrections. I also did a stint in an acute psych ward. I loved every minute of each of those places, and have watched for opportunities to openup here since I graduated. I think corrections would be very close to my dream nursing position. I think the best nurse can suck the cosmic knob at what she/he is doing if that person hates being there.
Personally, the thought of going back to work on a med-surg floor turns my stomach and I KNOW when I was there I may not have looked competant sometimes. I was competant, just apathetic. Hated every second I was there and everybody knew it.
Could this be the reason some corrections nurses get a bad rap? It is a very tough place to be every day....
nadine

[bandaid911]

My experiences as well has been very vast. I have worked in many different settings including dialysis and find correctional nursing a wonderful specialty. I love what i do and do find a small handful of nurses that would never be able to work anywhere else because of their horrible attitudes and mean demeanor. however they are still very competent and i would trust them with my life. In my experiences before corrections i have met nurses who cant calculate drip rates, dont know there drugs and cant even start an iv. there are many incompete nurses in every specialty.

[Gator,SN]

One of the first things I noticed hanging on the wall of the nurses station in the max security prison I accepted a postion in, was an ad to join the correctional nurses association to counteract the perception that correctional nurses were "less than perfect nurses".

Do you really think that joining this organization will help when you yourself believe the same about others in your profession?? I can just imagine what the seminars are like.

Gator

[itsme]

calliotter3, LTC the bottom of the pile? Who ever thinks that must be going to take care of grampa when he is end stage alzheimers and needs 24/7 care. I think that correctional nurses have guts just to go into a facility and hear those locks behind them, knowing they are truly stuck there until shift change. It takes a special person to take care of murderers, baby rapers, and your general criminal nut cases. I am not brave enough! Just because you run into a "bad" nurse in some facility does NOT mean every nurse is "bad" that works in that facility or that field of nursing. Who are these bashers????

[Reblflowrs]

I am an LPN and have worked in several areas, including LTC, Cardiac offices, telemetry, step down units, med-sug and post-op. I took a job as a correctional nurse after moving to Va. due to the fact the pay was 5k more to start a year here than in the cardiac office I was working in. At first I was a little apprehensive about it, but after being here 2 years I find it is no different than working with any other patient. I keep my assessment skills honed and work with the MD on a close basis. I have kept my clinical skills intact with IV treatments and venipuncture as we have an 8 bed infirmary. True, you see the worst of patients at times, and some of them are just bad to the bone. Then there are just people who made mistakes. The health problems are the same, and I try very hard not to judge any of them. I see some idiots working in this field, but I have seen those in all areas. I applaud any nurse doing a good job, no matter where it is. I take no offense at remarks other nurses make about us, I just figure they are one of those who like to make themselves look good by talking down others.