Orca ADN, ASN, RN

Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC

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All Content by Orca

  1. Orca

    Loan forgiveness options? Help!

    In all honesty, I don't see you finding any place that is going to take student loan debt off your shoulders. As GrnTea eloquently put it, a prospective employer has no incentive to do so since you...
  2. Orca

    Charge nurse/ years of experience

    I went straight from nursing school into a charge position. New unit (adult mental health), no one in the hospital wanted any part of it. In my current place, a year of experience in a line level...
  3. Orca

    Home Health or Corrections

    "Constantly harassing" is an exaggeration. Everyone gets tested when they hit the door. An inmate sees a new face and believes that he might get something that no one else will give him. Stick to your...
  4. Orca

    So, what do you do?

    I would definitely file an incident report on it. It isn't a HIPAA issue because it doesn't involve health
  5. Orca

    Homeless working the system, multiple admissions

    Are you suggesting that the hospital needs to find housing for the people who have completed treatment? I have run across people who are definitely gaming the system. One in particular, white male...
  6. Orca

    Psychiatric patients and nurses have similar issues?

    During my time working in mental health I worked with several nurses with significant psychiatric issues. One coworker attempted suicide, and another definitely had delusional thought. Another started...
  7. Orca

    Drug-seeking in prison? Rx narcotics?

    The only time we give out narcotics is postoperatively if an inmate has surgery, and only while in the infirmary. These are normally limited to 48-72 hours. We don't hand any narcotics out the window...
  8. Orca

    Sick Call costs

    We charge $8 for a sick call visit and nothing for medications. When I started with my agency it was $4 per visit and $4 per medication. If an injury is self-inflicted or is the result of an...
  9. Orca

    Nursing Behind the Wall

    I went into correctional nursing about 13 years ago. Ironically, I had worked in corrections in a number of other capacities, and my original goal in going to nursing school was to get out of...
  10. Orca

    Saving Lives, 1 cup of Gatorade at a Time!

    A few come to mind, from my days working the yard at a male medium-security state prison. The first we received a man down call on due to abdominal pain. When I reached the unit this inmate was in a...
  11. Orca

    New Grad going into Mental Health??

    I can only speak from personal experience. I went straight from nursing school into a mental health nursing job. I worked for a facility that was closed by the parent company. I couldn't buy an...
  12. Orca

    floating medications in water to administer

    This seems like a considerable overreaction. Your administration may also not realize that this does not stop the trading/selling of medication. Inmates just hold the water in their mouths, go around...
  13. Orca

    Mispronunciations That Drive You Nuts

    My father used to say that my mother was
  14. Orca

    How do you deal with the confinement?

    I was thinking about this last week. I have only had maybe three or four jobs in my life where I wasn't locked up in some fashion. It has just become part of the environment. Almost all of my working...
  15. Orca

    Inmate, Detainee, Patient???

    Ours are referenced as inmates throughout our administrative regulations and medical directives. The terminology is less important than the content, as long as people understand what you
  16. I graduated during a time of nursing surplus. I sent out letters and resumes to every hospital in my area. I was granted an interview about six weeks before graduation, and I had a job offer in hand...
  17. Orca

    Any thoughts on Kindred Hospital?

    I have not worked for Kindred either, but I know a number of people who have. They have a very poor reputation in my area, both for the care they deliver and how they treat
  18. Orca

    Health Services Administrator

    You aren't going to know the answer to that until you know what the specific issues are. Most such places have staffing issues. We have hired a lot of nurses who are leaving contracted companies in...
  19. No, but it seems like a large number of - shall we say, "unique" - personalities hire on in mental health units - like the LPN who sprinkled salt on the windowsill to keep the evil spirits out of a...
  20. One thing I learned very early as a psychiatric nurse: Not all of the nut cases are on the other side of the
  21. Orca

    Prospective employee's psych hx

    I worked for an inpatient hospital adult mental health unit. The way our insurance was set up, if an employee used our hospital a service was covered 100 percent, but if you went to another hospital...
  22. Orca

    New NM need advice

    HouTx gives you some excellent advice. I am a correctional DON. I came into a facility that was known systemwide as a place to avoid. When I accepted the job, three people openly questioned my sanity....
  23. My honest opinion is that correctional nursing is not a good spot for a new graduate. It requires a degree of independence that a new graduate cannot have. My agency does not hire new grads. That...
  24. You get very little chance to practice clinical skills on a mental health unit. I did six IV starts in four years. An ER or ICU nurse might exceed that in one shift. There is a perception, sometimes...
  25. Orca

    worked for one month after graduating

    The standard they have set seems unreasonable. Most places offer a minimum 4-6 weeks of orientation. Expecting you to function like an experienced RN after less than two weeks on the floor is over the...