Orca ADN, ASN, RN

Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC

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All Content by Orca

  1. Orca

    Any "geri-psych" nurses on board?

    Orca replied to MisPlacedTexan's topic in Psychiatric

    I worked on a hospital geropsych unit per diem until recently. I worked on this unit for about four years. I got burned out because our unit became more about keeping beds filled than providing any...
  2. Orca

    Some info on PHS?

    Orca replied to Jazzylyn's topic in Correctional

    I have not worked for them personally, but several of my coworkers have. All I have to know is that whenever we have an opening in the Nevada corrections system, almost all of our applicants are from...
  3. Orca

    Flu shots for inmates

    Orca replied to CCHP-RN's topic in Correctional

    The Nevada Department of Corrections is giving shots only to inmates over age 60 and those who are immunocompromised. In the past, these same inmates got the shots free of charge while other inmates...
  4. Orca

    1,000 inmates 4 night nurses.......

    Orca replied to dazzle256's topic in Correctional

    Sounds like luxury to me. I work for the Nevada Department of Corrections, and we carry two nurses at night in a facility with over 2,300
  5. Orca

    migraine faker at the ED!

    Orca replied to z's playa's topic in Emergency

    I understand what you are talking about. I had a patient on my mental health unit - an LPN who was hooked on opiates - who checked into my unit for detox. She claimed to have migraines and claimed...
  6. Orca

    Appointment notifications

    Orca posted a topic in Correctional

    I wanted to get some feedback from those working in major correctional institutions about the method used for notifying inmates of medical appointments. The reason I am asking is that my facility has...
  7. Orca

    Appointment notifications

    Orca replied to Orca's topic in Correctional

    My problem with the new system was not so much the system itself, but the mechanism that our supervisor chose to implement it - primarily his bullheaded insistence that the RNs walk the yard and...
  8. Orca

    Want to be psych nurse

    Orca replied to MisterArnold's topic in Psychiatric

    One thing that aggravates the devil out of me is the attitude of the psych nurses in the prison facility where I primarily work now. If any issue is the least bit medical, they shy away from it and...
  9. Orca

    Nurse practitioners in correction system

    Orca replied to Tashka's topic in Correctional

    In terms of medication and medical care, no. Inmates who are leaving get two weeks worth of gate meds. For diabetics, this includes insulin syringes and new bottles of whatever types of insulin they...
  10. Orca

    Nurse practitioners in correction system

    Orca replied to Tashka's topic in Correctional

    I can only speak for the system I work in. I would say that the quality of care is generally quite good. Despite the complaining some inmates do about the system, they have much greater access to...
  11. Orca

    Want to be psych nurse

    Orca replied to MisterArnold's topic in Psychiatric

    As a person who went straight into psych nursing after graduation, this hits home. In my case, there was a nursing surplus when my class graduated, and a lot of us had trouble finding work. I landed a...
  12. Orca

    advice 4 working w/homeless?

    Orca replied to Cewens's topic in Psychiatric

    If you work on a psych unit for very long, you will deal with the homeless. Many of the homeless are chronically mentally ill, and are unable to sustain what most of us would consider a normal...
  13. Orca

    Nurse practitioners in correction system

    Orca replied to Tashka's topic in Correctional

    Nevada uses Nurse Practitioners in the prison system. Our NP carries a big share of the load in our infirmary. Before coming to Nevada DOC, he worked for several years in the Federal Bureau of...
  14. Orca

    short staffed

    Orca replied to alkat's topic in Nurse Management

    A hospital I once worked for had a requirement that if an employee was tardy or absent three times within a 90-day period without justification, as a supervisor I had to verbally counsel them and...
  15. Orca

    Staff splitting - Help!

    Orca replied to RedWhiteBlue's topic in Psychiatric

    Given the situation you presented, I would have spoken with the charge nurse first. I have been in the position of being a charge nurse and having a subordinate go to the nurse manager with a patient...
  16. Orca

    LPN with Battery Charge on Criminal Record-Help

    Orca replied to 14yearLPN's topic in General Nursing

    I had many years of experience in criminal justice before going to nursing school, so I have knowledge on both sides of the topic. For those who do not know, 14yr has already been to court on this...
  17. Orca

    Abilify

    Orca replied to Orca's topic in Psychiatric

    It sounds like most of the experiences here mirror my own. I like the idea of including efficacy tests. However, it seems that medications are prescribed on the basis of who has the best advertising...
  18. Orca

    Is there a such thing as a psychiatric nurse assistant or technician?

    Orca replied to ericjames85's topic in Psychiatric

    I worked in a facility in Oklahoma that used psych techs. They had to have at least 30 semester hours of study in a social science. There was not a formal state licensing process, just a hospital...
  19. Orca

    Background Investigations

    Orca replied to Kikumaru's topic in Correctional

    I would be curious to know whether the application from Reno was from the State of Nevada or Washoe County. I work for the State of Nevada (I hired on about a year and a half ago), and I didn't have...
  20. Orca

    short staffed

    Orca replied to alkat's topic in Nurse Management

    ACNORN hit on a point I believe is key: enforce attendance policies. Too many units tolerate employees with poor timekeeping habits because they believe they cannot replace them - although they...
  21. Orca

    Use of Certified Medication Techs in a Prison

    Orca replied to WRCRN's topic in Correctional

    This is dangerous beyond belief. On a psychiatric unit, you pass medications with a potential for serious, even life-threatening, side effects. Would a med tech recognize the early signs of Lithium...
  22. Orca

    manipulative patient

    Orca replied to adrienurse's topic in Psychiatric

    I'm with you, sjoe. Cuddle and coddle a borderline, and you have opened up the floodgates of bizarre, aberrant and confrontational behaior. You are reinforcing the very behaviors you are trying to...
  23. Orca

    C.P.I. good, bad, or otherwise??

    Orca replied to the new girl's topic in Psychiatric

    I am a bit surprised that you say that. Prior to learning Mandt, the staff at my old facility (which was also in Oklahoma, incidentally) had no training in any restraint technique at all. We simply...
  24. Orca

    Mayonnaise treatment for lice

    Orca replied to deespoohbear's topic in General Nursing

    We had a problem with repeated infestations with our daughter, and my wife used to get them from her (although I never got them for some reason). We bought a product called Nitmix from a company in...
  25. Orca

    Want to be a nurse...but too stupid?!?

    Orca replied to Worthy's topic in Pre-Nursing Students

    Perhaps you were not a good student when you were 17, but you also have a maturity factor going for you now. Maybe school bored you, or you were less open to pushing yourself academically when you...