Jail Nurse needs info

biker nurse · Aug 7, 2011

That all depends on what your policy and protocols are. You may want to brush up on s/s of drug withdrawl, You really can't expect a convict to be honest, in fact most of what they say are lies. DO NOT GET PERSONAL with them. They can be charming, if they ask you something pesonal, (ie; are you married) don't answer it. They have nothing better to do but wacth you so be aware of what you say or do! and good luck !!

katkonk, BSN, RN · Aug 7, 2011

This question needs moved to the corrections specialty page. If you search those pages and old threads, you will find many answers to your questions. Proper wound care, with limited resources is one thing you might look up. You see a lot of big staph wounds in prison, and you don't have the high-tech wound care you do in a hospital. Signs and symptoms of drug use is good to know. You will see AIDS, always be alert for PCP and TB. Head trauma is a good thing to review, as well as DVT's. Really, in truth, you will see a bit of everything. Psych drugs are BIG, so be prepared to know what to you for a psych crisis. Good luck. It is good work if you work in a safe environment, just don't let them leave you alone with a c/o not within very easy reach.

Fiji Islands · Aug 7, 2011

You have to follow policy and procedure at your facility. Usually at the facility we look for s/s of alcohol, drug withdrwals and medical hx. Also diabetes, high BP, psych hx, rule out DTS/DTO/SI things like that Hope that helps.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Aug 8, 2011

Criminals have the same diseases as law abiding citizens... just about anything can come up- a friend of mine who worked in a max security prison said the biggest thing was figuring out the manipulators, and also treating them with dignity (she was the sort who was perfect for this- but tick her off, and the temp in the room could get rather chilly ).

Kooky Korky, BSN, RN · Aug 8, 2011

You will see lots of HTN, DM, wounds, drugs, respiratory (colds, coughs spread fast in an institution), and just about anything else you can think of, depending on your populations's age and general state of health before entering the facility.

Learn your policies and procedures and any standing orders (Protocols) that might exist. Some places let nurses treat by protocol for jock rash, athlete's foot, dental infection (prior to sending to dentist several days hence), headache, sore muscles, scabies, lice, dandruff, maybe others.

Just remember that the fmost important work you must do every single day is to keep safe. You want to walk out after work under your own power, not get carried out.

Be courteous but follow all of the rules all of the time. No exceptions. Ever. You don't want anyone thinking you are an "inmate lover". Everyone must know that your allegiance is with the officers, not with the inmates.

Jesus can save and Jesus can heal, but YOU must use secular good judgment and common sense and keep safe. The inmates love to compromise someone. It's just their nature. Yeah, I'm generalizing. There are decent people in jail, plenty of innocent people. But just assume that everyone there is your sworn enemy and you won't have to try to figure out who's conning you and who's not. They all are. Get it? Some of the officers and maybe your coworkers might not be the nicest people on Earth, either. As usual, don't tell anyone your personal information or problems. Not anyone. If you don't want those things made public. Try to park wihere your car license can't be seen.

Intake - if no doc is on the premises, you can't accept inmates who are not fit for confinement. Even if there is a doc, you probably will be taught not to accept prisoners who have dog bites or who have been beaten unless they've been cleared by an ER doc. Police will try to get you to accept their prisoners without having taken them to an ER because the police often consider it a big waste of time to be stuck in an ER with their prisoners. Don't let them dump anyone on you.

But surely all of this will be taught in Orientation, won't it? You only started 1 work day ago. How long is your O?

Best wishes.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Aug 8, 2011

moved your post...see info in our correctional nursing forum..

MJaneP, NP · Aug 29, 2011

I really appreciate this post. I have worked in a jail for 5 years and treating them with dignity is the key.

christinacub · Aug 30, 2011

Thanks so much to all the replies. Today is day #4 for training for me. Since I am PT and work 2 days a week(3days while training), my training may take longer than normal. My supervisor spent alot of time going over "the orientation books". Anyway...my mentor nurse was put on another job in a room or so away from me and I got a little panicky not knowing what to do in different cases Eg- the nurse protocol book is diff from the forms as far as cold meds protocol, an inmate wanted to have STD test, not knowing where things were located in the chart...forgetting to put an inmates name on an incident report so an officer had to come up and let me sign the report(embarassing). There are repetitive signatures. I haven't worked alot with MARS recently having been a school nurse and just learning how to write a MAR again(pen colors, format) diff responses to inmates for various reasons. For a few moments mid day...I started to feel a panic because everyone was busy and I couldn't get inmates to come down from housing since the phone was busy. My diabetic was late to show up for his insulin and I wasn't sure when to contact his housing officer to send him down since I knew that ,at that point, they needed to finish lunch and "count." Two hours left to finish sick calls before I'd have to leave them for the next shift(big no no)..etc etc...Finally I confessed that I was having some anxiety to my mentor and she hung around and was able to answer questions and help me finish up the shift.

It's not the inmates I'm bogged down with, its not the fine details of paper work and protocols. I have a notebook that Ive written things down in and I suppose it will all come together in time. It's been awhile since I've been new at the job and this is a hard position. The panic moment was blocking my sense of logic and I had to sort of snap myself out of it and just complete one job at a time. Anyhow, I had thoughts that maybe this is something I shouldnt be doing. It's hard for me to quit and it seems early yet. I think my training period will branch to mid Sept. I havent even started learning "intake" or "receiving" since most of that takes place on evening shift. I'm to be put on evening shift to train soon.

Anyway, if anyone has any words of encouragement or advice, i'd appreciate it.

CC

MichaelaM,RN, BSN, RN · Sep 10, 2011

I have also just begun a career in Corrections Nursing! To make it worse, I am starting in a jail that is BRAND NEW and still getting established. Our electronic charting is not up yet, and the charts are so confusing. I seriously think that's the hardest part. Doing sick call and answering kites is becoming easier, but the paperwork aspect is still difficult.

I am worried about getting a patient with an issue and I don't know what to do... It is one of my greatest fears. I'm brushing up on my wound-care skills-- and my diabetic skills! There seems to be a lot of issues with diabetics.

But it feels good so far... just a little scary. The inmates are no biggie, they are all fairly nice, as long as we remember to stay SUPER professional and not divulge ANY aspect of our personal life. It's surprisingly not very difficult to do. I just say "I don't discuss my personal life at work" and it seems to work!

I wish you luck in your new job... I need it too!

Kooky Korky, BSN, RN · Nov 26, 2011

Thanks so much to all the replies. Today is day #4 for training for me. Since I am PT and work 2 days a week(3days while training), my training may take longer than normal. My supervisor spent alot of time going over "the orientation books". Anyway...my mentor nurse was put on another job in a room or so away from me and I got a little panicky not knowing what to do in different cases Eg- the nurse protocol book is diff from the forms as far as cold meds protocol, an inmate wanted to have STD test, not knowing where things were located in the chart...forgetting to put an inmates name on an incident report so an officer had to come up and let me sign the report(embarassing). There are repetitive signatures. I haven't worked alot with MARS recently having been a school nurse and just learning how to write a MAR again(pen colors, format) diff responses to inmates for various reasons. For a few moments mid day...I started to feel a panic because everyone was busy and I couldn't get inmates to come down from housing since the phone was busy. My diabetic was late to show up for his insulin and I wasn't sure when to contact his housing officer to send him down since I knew that ,at that point, they needed to finish lunch and "count." Two hours left to finish sick calls before I'd have to leave them for the next shift(big no no)..etc etc...Finally I confessed that I was having some anxiety to my mentor and she hung around and was able to answer questions and help me finish up the shift.
It's not the inmates I'm bogged down with, its not the fine details of paper work and protocols. I have a notebook that Ive written things down in and I suppose it will all come together in time. It's been awhile since I've been new at the job and this is a hard position. The panic moment was blocking my sense of logic and I had to sort of snap myself out of it and just complete one job at a time. Anyhow, I had thoughts that maybe this is something I shouldnt be doing. It's hard for me to quit and it seems early yet. I think my training period will branch to mid Sept. I havent even started learning "intake" or "receiving" since most of that takes place on evening shift. I'm to be put on evening shift to train soon.
Anyway, if anyone has any words of encouragement or advice, i'd appreciate it.
CC

How nice of your mentor to actually be with you. :mad: Where is this charming jail? Is it state, fed, local, what?