2003rn

:eek:I also think the PTO time with Wexford leaves a lot to desire. Having to use it as sick time, if you are a few minutes late you are charged 15 minutes of your PTO time, with this system, you can hardly ever build enough time for a vacation.

We aren't allowed to wear khaki (general population inmates), red or orange (segregation i/m) or bright yellow (diagnostic i/m), we can't wear denim scrubs either.

I started in correctional nursing at the age of 49, I am now 54. I love it. I don't think you'd have any problems at all. :[anb]:

We have Wexford, it's ok, but PTO time isn't good. We have to use PTO as sick time as well as vacation time, also if you're late, even by one minute, you get 15 minutes of PTO time taken away, it just isn't fair. We are in need of new equipment, (thermometers, pulse ox, b/p cuffs, etc.,) it seems like we have to do without quality equipment because the company is cheap. Just my humble opinion...

Thanks for your input. Our MARs are preprinted, but there are so many new orders or changed orders by the time we get them, that we pull charts to make sure the orders are written correctly. Changeover is a big deal for us, we have to have every MAR triple checked before the actual changeover, the orders that have changed have to be verified by pulling the chart and actually reading the order again. We are all having to do chart checks before we put the charts back on the rack, etc. But we always have a few med errors. I get upset when an inmate takes her meds, then tells you that she thinks that she got the wrong pills. I tell them to check the pills before taking them...

:rolleyes:There have been a lot of med errors in the last few months in our correctional facility. We are double checking physician's orders, checking each others orders as they are taken off the order sheet and placed on the MARs. Does anyone have any more suggestions, to further reduce errors. One of our provider's has terrible handwriting, he has been talked to about it, but his handwriting hasn't improved. Some of our suggestions are to keep the inmates quiet while pill call is going on, some of them act like it's social hour, talking and laughing, etc. Also we would like to have 2 pill nurses, that would help them to take more time to double check the meds as they are pulling them. I would appreciate any suggestions on this matter. Our facilty has over 450 inmates, our nurse sick calls are getting out of hand, then complain about their copay ($3), they would rather use their money to buy junk food from the commissary, they buy all the spicy junk food, ramen noodles, pepperoni, soda, etc, then come to medical to get antacids or zantac, but they say it's not their diet causing the heartburn, etc...I could go on and on about this...but I'd really aappreciate any help at all, to cut down on med errors... Thank you, 2003rn

To lpnflorida, In our facility, the inmates fill out medical service requests when they have an illness, these requests are picked up and triaged everynight. If there is someone who is suffering from pain (toothache, severe headache, etc) the nurse calls and talks to the corrections officer and has them to check on the inmate, if the inmate is indeed in pain, they can be seen right away, if the officer reports that the inmate is sleeping, then they must wait until dayshift to be seen. Often, the inmates will fake an illness to get drugs. I know it's hard to distinguish which one indeed has pain, but when you watch them in the waiting room, laughing and talking...then they come into the exam room and act like they're having the worst pain ever, you start thinking they are just drug seeking. Most inmates can buy motrin, tylenol, rolaids, etc from commissary, so they have them on hand for headaches, etc. Hope this helps.

We have discussed the commissary list with the higher-ups. They refuse to make changes. Even the prison cafeteria serves bad choices. The inmates have all the bread and butter that they want(no limits) An ice cream scoop is used to dip the butter. Their idea of a high fiber diet is wheat bread instead of white. They have way too many starchy foods and a sweet kool aid type drink with every meal. Lots of processed meats, not very many salads or fresh fruit. I know they do not have much of a choice in the cafeteria and they do have to eat, I've seen a diabetic tray, it is no different than a regular tray, the high fiber tray has wheat bread instead of white. The diabetic snacks at night are huge...they get a bag meal with 2 (peanut butter/jelly)or (processed lunch meat/cheese) sandwiches, milk a piece of fruit. I don't know how they get by with serving what they do, but believe me, we have tried to educate the so called "dieticians" to no avail. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

Another thing...Our I/M's get to order commisary a couple times a month, they get sodas, candy, cookies, pepperoni, ramien noodles, chips etc. The diabetics eat all that junk, then come to medical with a blood sugar over 500, I think they should be written up for self harm for that, but they have the right to order whatever they want and have the money for.

I work in a women's correctional facility, >450 inmates. We charge $3 for a sick call, there is $2 more if they are referred, $3 more if they complain about something other than the original sick call complaint. We are starting to give out nurse protocol packs, tylenol, motrin, cough tabs, etc, usually a 3 or 5 day supply with a $2 charge for the meds. The NP has decided that she will only write a 30 day script for eucerin cream and the jar of it has to last a month, the I/Ms are throwing a fit over that. Most of them want that and also medicated shampoo and acne meds, etc. Our sick call list hasn't decreased yet, but I have a feeling it will. We usually have 30-45 sick calls a day. One more thing...the other night a seg inmate was upset b/c her motrin order was up, it was 0230, I wasn't going to call the NP at that time of the night, any she was c/o of a headache and her bunions were hurting. The CO asked if we could see her, I told her it wasn't an emergency and for her to put in a sick call, she asked what would be considered an emergency, I said active bleeding or chest pain, etc., well, the CO went and told her, and she then said she had chest pain, the Sgt. wrote her up for that:) I would have seen her if it would have been an actual emergency, when she found out that they weren't going to strip her out and bring her down, she finally laid down and slept like a baby the rest of the night. :smilecoffeeIlovecof

I work at a women's max. security prison. The only thing going on at pill call is passing meds. If the med nurse thinks the I/M really needs medical attention, the I/M is sent to the medical unit. We always have 2 nurses on duty, the LPN usually passes meds and the RN stays on the medical unit. We usually have patients in the infirmary and we cannot leave our post...unless there is a major emergency.

We crush all narcotics.

I work in a female correctional facility, there is never an inmate in our unit without an officer there. Our officers watch our cleaners in every exam room, etc. In my opinion, I wouldn't want the inmates there without an officer.

I'm not sure if it the same Wexford or not. I hear that Wexford got all the prisons and jails in our state (WV). I have worked for CMS for 2 years and have no complaints about their company. Thanks for the reply.

Our contract with CMS was out bid by another company-Wexford- Have any of you heard of this company? We don't know what to expect, just got word about the change today, it will take effect Jan. 30,2008. Any knowledge of this company would be much appreciated. I've never dealt with a company change over--have any of you??? Please comment... Thanks: