SoloWytch

We crush all narcotics and float all other meds. If they walk away w/ meds or are caught cheeking them, the med either gets DC'd or they get a crush order (depending on the medication). I've had CO's ask me to get a crush order for some inmates that they suspect are cheeking the meds.

Let's see... I've told my roommate about it (she's a member here now). and I told my DON and ADON about it, and I've spread the word to my fellow student nurses. And I've passed the site on to some people on a non-nursing board that I read.

I'm a 2nd semester undergrad (well, everyone in the class is, too) in an LPN to BSN completion program, so, like Steve said, we all work outside of class, live further away, have families/homes to take care of, etc. And we work a variety of shifts. I know they're supposed to teach teamwork, but I really don't like my grade depending on what others do, or that other people's grades depend on what I do. I'm jut not happy with either side of that equation. Ah, well, it's due tonight, so it'll all be over in less than 12 hours.

AAAAaaaaaaaRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAaaarrrrrrrghhhh!!!!! (I think that about sums it up...)

I love my Crocs! Oh, and welcome to the wonderful (and weird and wacky!) world of corrections!

I see you're in PA -- so am I. Was just wondering which county jail you applied at. Good luck!

My shining moment is STILL the dementia patient at the LTC I worked at who looked up at me and said, "You're crazy."

I don't get a lot of cat calls (unless I have to do the DHU med pass.) Mostly I ignore it, although there was one guy who kept yelling that he wanted to stick his **** in my ear. I finally muttered to the CO who was with me, "I know it's best to ignore them, but I really want to tell him I don't need a Q-Tip." The CO grinned and said "I'll tell him!" practically bounced back to the guy's cell and said, "Hey, man, she said she doesn't need a Q-Tip." Within about 30 seconds the entire pod knew what I'd said, everyone laughed, and the cat-calls stopped.

Beware of chi-chi's. (Or whatever your inmates call it.) I've seen (and smelled! *L*) some pretty wild recipes. What is it? Well... it's sort of a prison pot-luck, usually mixed in a bag, and features ramen noodles and whatever other odd commissary things people add in -- cheese, soy sauce, tuna, hot sauce...

It was assigned last Thursday, and is due tomorrow evening. I have stuff I have to do tomorrow morning that will probably take longer than anticipated, so I have to do it tonight. I've been home from tonight's class for about 2 hours now, and just can't seem to get started. I would (seriously!) rather go do chemistry homework than write this one page paper. One page, 12 point font, double spaced, on the image of the nurse. Will probably take me all of 15 minutes to write it, maybe 30. Why am I having such a hard time doing it? Advice? Suggestions? Kick in the butt?

No, I don't think it's necessary to give up caring about your patients. It is, however, necessary to always remember that you have to keep more of a "distance" in your caring. (Not sure I'm going to be able to explain what I mean here...) You have to have definite limits, and maintain them at all times. You have to make sure you apply the same rules and standards to everyone. (They will try to get you to make exceptions for them.) Do you have to be rude? No, but you have to be firm, and they'll think it's rudeness. For instance, we're not allowed to give any kind of medication unless they have an order for it, and that includes motrin, tylenol, etc. One of the inmates who is new to my med pass (and hasn't learned yet! *L*) kept asking me for a motrin. I explained that without an order, I couldn't give it to him. "The other nurses did." (I love that line! If I had a penny for every time I've heard it in the last year I could retire!) Repeated the explanation. He swore and stalked off. Next med pass, same inmate, same scenario. Next med pass, it started again. I explained we'd already had this conversation, the answer wasn't going to change, and told him that that was the end of the conversation. Rude? No. Firm, setting and maintaining limits, and not letting him win the power game. And they will run games on you. You'll probably fall for some, but you'll learn, either by trial and error or by guidance from more experienced nurses. (I've been very lucky in that regard.) They will make you mad; they will make you laugh. You will like some and you will want to slap others upside the head. Keep in mind that they are there for a reason. Keep in mind that they are human beings. It can be a balancing act, and some days you don't hold it all together like you think you should. When you lose it, just take a deep breath, try to shake it off, and go on to the next, trying not to let it affect you. (Hmmm... sounds like nursing in general there, doesn't it?) Anyhow, I still think this is the most fun job there is, so don't let the burned out nurses from your clinical rotation put you off. (It does sound like they were burned out. I get like that when I work too many days in a row.)

Hi, Patti I'm not sure what they meant by "leave your conscience at the door" If they mean that you have to ignore the fact that some of your patients will have committed rape, murder, child abuse, etc, yeah, you do have to put that out of your mind. (We actually aren't allowed to look up what the inmates are in for, so that we aren't influenced by their crimes.) As for overtime, where I am it's almost always available, but rarely mandated. (Mostly because my DON and ADON refuse to have a nurses' meeting with the topic "How to say 'No' to Kim and Tracey." I really need that meeting!) Also, my DON and ADON often pick up the slack, doing med pass, working in Intake or the Infirmary, etc. (And the fact that they do this is one of the reasons that it's so hard to say no when they ask if you can pick up an extra shift.) (Have I mentioned that I have the greatest DON (and ADON) on the planet?) Anyhow, I work in a county jail. Our inmates sometimes get sentenced to state facilities, some are waiting for the feds to come and get them, and a few are waiting for INS. All facilities are a little different. We have an agency nurse right now who worked at a jail in Atlanta (I think) and there are differences between how they did things and how we do things. All in all, I love my job. It's never boring, and usually entertaining.

You assume, correctly, Kimned! *waves to the best DON on the planet* (P.S. Have you signed my PTO form yet?)

Where I work, nurses are not allowed to be alone with an inmate in any gender combination. There is always a guard present, unless privacy is an issue, in which case another nurse or other medical person is present and the CO is right outside the (open) door/on the other side of the screen. It's all about safety.

I work in a county jail and we have all levels of security. Most of our nurses are female. Off hand I can think of 6 or 8 male nurses that are there (all but one are RN's and at least 2 are agency).