HELP HELP HELP

[rayea]

Hi and Help

Just got a job in a correctional setting (prison for women) - Please tell me everything and anything that will help me :). I have years of medical and actually worked in a "jail" for three years but I still am searching for anything that will help me. I will read stuff on this site and google but any tips would be amazing :). I am especially interested in caring for pregnant inmates as my previous experience in corrections was mostly with men. The women I worked with were great but VERY manipulative and would do anything to get a ride to the hospital so if this is the case I need to know about care of female, pregnant inmates (have had no children yet so...). THANKS for any pointers or references or anything :)

rayea

[Orca, ADN, ASN, RN]

I am a DON in a state women's correctional facility. Having worked with both male and female populations, I can tell you that there is a definite difference between the two. Generally speaking, women seek health care earlier and for more minor reasons, while the men try to tough it out until you sometimes have a difficult time treating them. The best path is somewhere in the middle.

Our pregnant inmates get a weekly visit from a contract OB-GYN. I have a nurse assigned to monitor their issues, schedule their appointments and coordinate office visits with the contract physician. Our policy is that any inmate showing signs of labor goes to the hospital by ambulance, while more routine matters (office procedures, etc.) may go by van. We had to develop policies regarding restraint of pregnant inmates (i.e., which restraints are allowed at which stages of pregnancy, etc.).

One thing I learned very early is that women want to know the "why" of what we are doing. They are generally receptive if things are explained.

A book that I have found very useful is Essentials of Correctional Nursing by Lorry Schoenly and Catherine M. Knox.

[rayea]

THANK YOU Orca - very helpful and nice of you - i will check out the book :)

thanx,

rayea

how do your feel about either of the certifications for correctional nurses - impressive or not so much? more importantly would they help me learn? one is aca and the other is ncchc (i think)

thanks

and do you love it or is it a job :)