[Foxy78]

^We don't wear ID badges, but it is very easy for them to find out your name. For instance, every time I submit an incident or a disciplinary report on an IM, my name is listed on it and the IM gets a copy of it per policy. They also can request their medical records (nurses notes, etc). If just 1 inmate finds out your name, you can pretty much assume they all know it. As for protecting myself at home, I'll have to admit I have gotten more conscientious about making sure the doors and windows are locked. I'm not paranoid and definitely don't loose sleep over my job, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious. I'd like to get a gun, but the wife says absolutely not, haha. I will probably get a dog though.

Although many inmates have made threats to staff or intimated that they know where staff members live, I know of only 1 instance where something actually happened and that was quite a few years ago. A bunch of gang members showed up at a CO's house, but nothing actually happened, the police showed up and defused the situation.

[shell911rn]

Originally Posted by Pipsqueak

Is it typical in corrections to have ID badges that display your full name? I think I would be terrified of being seeked out by an inmate with a grudge who was just released. In what ways are you able to protect yourself from this sort of thing?

In the prison I work in, we are identified by our last name, not our first name. So we answer the phone or are called "RN Jones" instead of "RN Sally" by other staff and inmates. I think this creates a more formal situation and understanding of authority so that the inmate doesn't see us as being on the same level. Technically, we are supposed to wear ID badges that have our first initial and last name and title, but I and most other nurses I work with don't for our safety. They do know how my name is spelled, though, if I have given them passes to medical for treatments, doctor's visits, etc., as this is required in order to issue them a pass. I just choose not to have my name on parade for everyone to see. If an inmate asks me for my name, I give it to him and make sure he knows how to spell it properly (hahahahaha...I think all correctional nurses can relate to that one). It probably wouldn't be hard though, if your last name was unique, for the inmate to get information about you, just as any one could get information about you if they really wanted to from the internet nowadays. But, I know when I worked on the outside in an ER, we feared this same thing and did change our ID tags to have our first name and initial of our last name to protect ourselves, after rumors of gang members following a nurse home after she treated a victim of a drive-by and gang members (patients or visitors) started threatening nursing staff in the ER.

One way we can protect ourselves is by not listing our name and address and/or phone number in the phone book. My employer also allows us to register with the DMV to have our address blocked (just as law enforcement personnel are allowed to) so if you try to look up my information in their system, my employers' address will appear, not my own. Otherwise, you just don't think about it. Patients have gone back to hospitals and shot/assaulted their doctors/nurses when they didn't like the care they received so no workplace seems to be exempt from violence anymore.

[azguyrn]

A myth. I do Correctional & ER Nursing. ER nursing is way more stressful. I get assaulted verbally and physically in the ED on a daily basis, more than I ever have working in a prison.

[SecuredFloorNurse]

Originally Posted by Pipsqueak

Is it typical in corrections to have ID badges that display your full name? I think I would be terrified of being seeked out by an inmate with a grudge who was just released. In what ways are you able to protect yourself from this sort of thing?

I work on a secured floor at a hospital and we are locked in. We have officers here with us the whole time, never alone when we enter a patient's/inmate's room. As far as the name goes, we're not allowed to wear our badges ever. It's the policy. I always tell them I'm Mrs. (last name) and I will be your nurse for the night. The floor is actually owned by the state here.
As far as it actually affecting home life. I'm a pretty tough person to get to so it doesn't really. They've said things that are inappropriate, the main thing is to put them in their place from the get go. If they sense you are a weak one then they will play on that.

[aknurs]

I have been working in Corrections for 10 years,(Emergency Room 7 years prior) Working in an ER changed me, as you see patients at their worse. I can't count the times, when I worked ER,that someone threated to come back & shoot the place up..because they didn't get the drugs, treatment ,etc that they wanted. Corrections is basically the same, except you know who the "bad guys" are. I have more security around me now, that I ever had working ER. You learn to spot manipulators, fakers, stalkers, etc...You learn to manipulate people yourself...After all, you learn from the best, the inmates.You become a product of your environment..If you show any fear, or sign of weakness, you are like a wounded Wilda beast of the Serengeti..so it does toughen you up some, & has made me a more aggressive person.JMO

[TwistedAsst]

I can honestly say it changed my homelife for the better. I pay a lot more attention to detail and what is happening around me.
My (now ex) husband couldn't handle it. He says I became somewhat of a "man-hater" ... but I had to explain in explicit detail of what type of men I was encountering on a daily basis ... I think he understands a great deal better now! My son ... thinks Mom has the coolest job, but knows he can't hide anything because at any random moment we can have a "junk on the bunk" search. My parents ... it's the first time they have left me alone in years! God is great!

As for inmates knowing who I am ... I work in a county facility (male and female) at the intake level. I see them just off the streets when they are intoxicated, injured and just plain ignorant. After that, they are housed. If they see me then, they are usually pretty apologetic. If I happen to care for them then, I have faith in my abilities to know that I have done my job well, that I have treated everyone with respect (even if they have treated me with none) to know that if I run into them at the local Wal-Mart (which has happened more than once), I usually get a "Hello" and sometimes a "Hey, I have been clean for XX amount of days ..."

Just because they are inmates, doesn't mean they are any less our patients ... even though at times it is comforting to know we work in the only place that we can tell someone "take this suppository and shove it where the sun don't shine!" and seriously get away with it.

~Amy