LPN considering corrections

Dialysis is technical, and can be exciting at times lol

I actually start at a county jail next week as an LVN! I will let you know how my experience goes :)

I did prison nursing for 23 months. The hardest nursing shifts I ever did. Start with 22 blood sugars and the inmates can't draw up their own insulin or admin. Then 50-60 manual bp's. Couldn't have any help. Then see another 25-100 in clinic, depending on the weather. Oh and then there was always a chest pain or dyspnea. Oh and we had to count needles, not so many narcs to count. Forgot you have to go to several cells as all prisoners can't be in general population. I had a friend that said prison nursing was the easiest nursing he ever did. Different state, different rules? Good luck.

I did prison nursing for 23 months. The hardest nursing shifts I ever did. Start with 22 blood sugars and the inmates can't draw up their own insulin or admin. Then 50-60 manual bp's. Couldn't have any help. Then see another 25-100 in clinic, depending on the weather. Oh and then there was always a chest pain or dyspnea. Oh and we had to count needles, not so many narcs to count. Forgot you have to go to several cells as all prisoners can't be in general population. I had a friend that said prison nursing was the easiest nursing he ever did. Different state, different rules? Good luck.

I turned down a job at another county jail b/c of this. Doing blood sugars would be fine, honestly. But on top of taking vitals, the HUGE med pass, doing screenings for new inmates, and all the paperwork? And all for $20/hr? Yeah right.

The RN's at our facility handle the diabetic's medication. They answer the sick calls, deal with the emergency visits that come into the clinic, and assist the Dr. or PA with clinic 3x/week. As LPN's we handle the med pass, vital signs, do initial inmate screenings, and assist with emergencies PRN. Still a lot to do, but not extremely overwhelming.

I have worked in corrections for the last 4 years in florida and cali, its different state to state, in Fl, they arent pro-inmate, in cali, they are... the prisons in cali are like resorts. I love it though. You just have to find your niche in nursing. Your typical day could be easy and it could be hard. No two days are alike. Prison and Jail is very unpredictable, you just never know how your day is going to go. I say, try it and see if youlike it but one thing I will say to you is.... If your're scared, dont let on, inmates smell this miles away but if you decide to do it then once the imates know not to play with you, they will respect you. They treat you exactly how you treat them. If you have good officers then its good. As for meds, this will vary no matter where you go. I work in Cali now and I handle 3 bldgs plus diabetics and I am done with one bldg in about 25mins, but that takes practice though. Oh yeah, your coworkers matter too. If you have good coworkers, then your day is usually smooth. but if theyre selfish and lazy and you will be on your own. But its all good.

I have been working at a county jail for about a month now and I really like it. There is never a dull moment and you get alot of good veriety of different assessment experiences. I worked in a GI Office before and loved it but I really like the county jail. It is much different then working in an office. I feel like it may better prepare me for the RN Bridge program I will be doing hopefully next fall. Hope that helps.

I started last week and I love it!