Another interview question~ what to review?

shell911rn · Jul 17, 2008

Review how you will respond to emergencies. Don't let all your answers be "Refer inmate to RN or MD." If it is a medical emergency and you are first on scene, you will be required to act until a higher level of medical/nursing authority arrives. Always remember to make sure the scene is safe before entering it (that custody is present and has secured the inmates and is keeping an eye on you), to wear PPE's (personal protective equipment), to size-up the scene (see if there is any evidence of what might have happened to cause the medical emergency such as a syringe indicating a drug OD or blood on the floor indicating trauma) and check the LOC and ABC's of the patient. This will guide your treatment. Some of the questions may also be related to how you handle security situations (inmates fighting) or inmate's behavior (how you would respond if an inmate was coming on to you or is being verbally assaultive). You might also want to review some simple mathematic calculations related to drug dosages for liquid medications or splitting tablets

and common side effects of commonly prescribed psych medications (which are prescribed in large amounts in correctional settings) such as antipsychotics and SSRI's. Hope this helps.