Orca replied to stedfast01's topic in Correctional
In my state, legally nurses must be supervised by nurses. I cannot imagine a system that allows custody officers to give direct orders to medical staff. If California has any sense at all, a complaint...
Several of the hospitals here are in expansion mode - either adding on or building satellite facilities in neighborhoods away from the main hospital. That implies that there is hiring ahead. If you...
Las Vegas is an odd job market for nursing. I came here 18 years ago, and getting the first job was the hardest. I had five years of experience when I arrived, and it was denial after denial, even...
Hopefully their interest in you as a manager is genuine. As others have pointed out, sometimes it isn't. They could be compiling an applicant list for a position for which someone else has already...
She has pretty much assured that this will never happen by practicing without a license (or training). I can't imagine any state nursing board allowing her to sit for the licensing exam when she...
I remember those days, when it was assumed that any male had to be gay to go into nursing in the first place. Ironically, the first male nurse I ever met was gay, very openly
A nursing school classmate of mine was convicted of domestic violence 10-15 years before we went to school (I heard the whole story because his case was heard the day that my class attended a BON...
A nurse who worked on my staff was attending NP school. I made a lot of accommodations in her schedule to help her get through. The farther she went in the program, the more that what we did was...
My staff's meal breaks are included in their total hours (i. e., the shift is not extended for their breaks). It is expected that there will be interruptions, and some may require immediate response....
Supervising those who were once peers is always a challenge. However, it is not impossible. Some will find it easier than others to accept your new role, but accept it they must. Not playing favorites...
The last exit interview that I did, I was bluntly honest. My unit was taken over by a nurse manager who was intent on running me off because she saw me as a threat to her authority. She set me up to...
The main reason that this question is asked is to see if you know any inmates in the system that you are being hired for. There might be adjustments for separation that would need to be made,...
Orca replied to RachealAnne's topic in Correctional
A lot of my staff are diminutive females. Their stature and appearance have nothing to do with how effective that they are in their jobs. Sometimes it can be an advantage, because some inmates don't...
This is a very underrated aspect of correctional nursing. When I worked in hospitals, you were always supposed to be kind to visitors and patients, no matter how abusive that they were to you, because...
Orca replied to LPNTOBE2017's topic in Correctional
My agency doesn't hire new grads, for reasons that I agree with. Correctional nursing requires levels of skill and independence that no new graduate has. Your assessment skills need to be polished,...
I completely agree with this. I have done mental health nursing, prison nursing, and I have worked on a prison mental health unit. A major portion of the prison population has mental health issues,...
If it's a place where you bring in your lunch, no metal utensils or glass containers. Drinks should be in plastic bottles rather than aluminum cans (you can tear an aluminum can apart and make a very...
Orca replied to all_good_names_gone's topic in Correctional
Very much this. You cannot take everything you are told at face value. One reason that inmates don't get the care they need is that they don't seek it - then they file grievances over issues that they...
I have an issue that I am unsure of the best way to approach. I have a number of nurses on my staff who are not native English speakers. We have had a turnover in providers, and our new providers have...
In a prison setting, medications can only be forced with a court order or forced medication panel recommendation. This is only considered when an inmate is a danger to self or others and he refuses...
Funny, I was thinking the same thing. Why would you use anything that would put you at risk for failing a pre-employment drug screen? It's not like you don't know that it's
My current specialty is correctional nursing, so I frequent the correctional nursing forum. I can't tell you how many people have asked what it is like to work not only for a specific employer, but...
As a DON I can only pick up overtime in emergency situations when no one else is available. My employer understandably doesn't want to pay time and a half at my salary level when there are less...
I once had a colleague who medicated patients preemptively so that she wouldn't be bothered during her shift (nights). I learned this when I covered night shift during one of her absences (I worked...