Opera26

Does anybody who has already gotten CIC know if EPI 101 is enough to take the CBIC exam, or do you need EPI 102 and 201 (or whatever they are) as well? I'm hoping EPI 101 is enough, along with other studies. Thanks, Opera26

great! count me in. thanks for getting this started, chey! opera26

Excellent! Thanks. Yes I am a member of APIC. Opera26

You will probably know more than I do after taking the EPI course! Ha. Good luck! As I mentioned in a previous post, I believe you get more bang for your buck with the local APIC orgs, though you still would need the national organization. Opera

hi chey, can you post a link to this? i am not familiar with this course. and, as far as i know, you can retake the exam, though i have not taken it. thanks, opera

What's true? The skills, or not being able to work in a hospital? :)

There is some prejudice against nurses who work in corrections, though. When I was working on my BSN, one of my online classmates made it very plain she did not want anything to do with me because I worked in a prison. She was quite clear about it. I would have said something, but I just wanted to get the class over with and not make waves. My classmate's personal prejudice does not extend to all hospital recruiters, I expect. As I said before, nurses at the prison where I work also work in the local hospital in our small town. I wonder if the original poster, Kitten403 is still reading these responses. Are you finished with school now Kitten403? As for my former classmate, I wonder if she or her family was the victim of some type of crime. That may be why she responded to me that way. Nobody 'has' to work in a prison, but I like it. Hospitals aren't for everybody. I never did care much for working in them. To each his own! Opera

Hi Kitten, Many of the nurses at the prison where I work also work at the local hospital. Oh, and they do not hire new grads who have no experience where I work. Your corrections departments must be different, though. Some people say that prison nursing is "one of the best kept secrets in nursing." I tend to agree with that. It's still a job, though. The work is hard, like every place else, and there are the different personalities to deal with, like any place else. And you still need to get up early or stay up late--just like any other nursing job. Opera

hi jenn, i have been studying off and on for the past 6 months. last month i bought the online practice exam. that made me realize how hard the test really is! i am not even half way through the exam (70 questions). it takes me a long time to find the answer to each question, and sometimes i cannot even find an answer. i mainly search the apic text online version for the answers, which has free online access for a year if you bought the book. i have probably spent nearly $1000 on apic materials--i think i have bought everything there is to study for the exam, with my own money. i found the state infection control organization to be a good value. in my state they are having a 3-day seminar in september for 'only' around $300. it's not geared specifically toward certification, but will probably help, and will at least be good for networking. other than that, the only review classes i know of are the ones on the apic web site. there may be local classes in our areas sometime in the future. i guess we'll find out at the local or state apic meetings. thanks, opera

hi jenn, i want to take the exam too, but have not set a date. there is so much to learn! do you go to the local apic meetings? there may be review classes available at a local hospital. you wrote this almost four months ago, have you already taken the exam? do you work with an active ic department, or are you the only ic person (like i am). i was surprised to find out how little help there actually is for studying for the exam if you are on your own. (as evidenced by this being the only reply you have received in over three months. :) ) good luck to all of us! opera

great info. thanks laura! opera

Unless I missed it, this is the only topic with the word "infect . . . " in it. I was looking for an "Infection Control Nursing" topic to browse here. Maybe the moderators could make an Infection Control Nursing topic heading. Opera

That sounds nuts to me. When I read your post, I thought, "what"? Let the IMs come for their meds. I don't get whatever it is they (whoever's idea this was) are thinking. Change the time the pharm tech gives out the KOPs, if that would help. That is just whack! (BTW, what's a QMA?) Op

Hi Mt, Many nurses have never worked in a prison before, so don't let your lack of knowledge of prison routine bother you. All of us were new to the system once. Try to say, "I chart everything I do" during the interview. Op

Hi Travduck, Thanks for your response. I agree that it will all work out in time. I was thinking that maybe if I was an officer (like the type who wears gold bars, like a Leutenant, not like a CO), that I would automatically get respect. I was wrong. It has to be earned over time. Op

Good points, Bub. There must be a reason why nurses are not the equivalent of commissioned officers in prisons. I definetly do not want to be a CO. I agree it will work out in time. Thanks, Op

thanks for the replies. if i were in the military, i would be a lieutenant, at minimum, i would guess. but you're right, rank does not guarantee respect. a higher ranking might imply knowledge and training, though; i don't know. it is only a couple of guys i have a problem with, plus the occasional off-the-cuff smart remark. my attitude is ok. i agree that in time, people will understand the importance of my work. regardless, (for the sake of discussion here), my question remains: why aren't nurses who work in prisons ranking officers, like in the military, since prisons are based on a military style? why can't a nurse working in a prison system be a captain? does any state do it that way?

Hi All, My nursing job at the prison now has me surrounded by Corrections Officers, as opposed to other nursing/medical staff. I feel like an animal on exhibit at the zoo! Even the lowest ranking COs think they don't have to have any respect for me, but, of course, I have to respect them. I say "Good Morining," they say nothing. They talk loudly outside my office. (Not all of them of course.) One interrupted me when I was on the phone with my boss, as if what I was doing was of no importance whatsoever. I heard that prisons are modeled on the military; that's why we only use last names. Lately I've been wondering, if we are modeled on the military, why aren't nurses "Officers" like they are in the military? We, as RNs, would outrank nearly all the COs who can sometimes make life "inconvenient" for us if they choose to. I don't want to give orders to the COs, and I want to be safe just like everybody else. I just think nurses in corrections deserve more respect than we get from some of the COs. I don't think they have any idea of the importance of nurses in prisons: look how rare disease outbreaks are, and how well they are handled. That protects the COs, too. Are nurses in corrections "Officers" in any prison system? I think they should be. Opera26

I don't know what's better, since I haven't been in corrections nursing that long. But working for the state Doc must be better, because my state let the DON and administrator switch to the state from the current MHM. Nothing against MHM, it's just that it seems like the state should be paying me directly, and quit giving a share of my pay to a middle-man. Privitazation is not saving the state any money, from what I understand. And if I ask some nurse who works for the state why we are privatized nurses and they are not, and they say, "It's mandated," one more time, I will scream. Yeah, it's mandated, it's not like gravity, and nobody has any say in the matter, for cryin' out loud. This subject really tees me off. Op

I've been in corrections for a few months. Those stories sound exactly like the stuff that goes on where I work, too. Being second-guessed and controlled by non medical people is something you really have to get used to. Luckily, the job is worth it. I wish I had started in corrections years ago, (on most days.) Op

I just joined this web site and saw your post. So, what happened? Are you the IC nurse now?

Ksilty, Thanks for your reply. They let the supervisors work for the state now, instead of the contract company. Happened within the month. So, "that boat left without us," so to speak. Also, from what I've heard, the contract company couldn't staff the place at the price they said, so the state is paying more. If they let the supervisors work for the state, they should let the rest of us work for the state too, I think. If it wasn't a better deal, the supervisors wouldn't have done it so readily. Op

Hi, Help me understand this: my state uses a staffing company for staffing nurses at some of it's prisons, yet some nurses in the state prison system are state employees. Are state benefits better? (I suspect so, as far as medical, pension and other things.) Are the nurses who are state employees making more total money (benefits, etc.) than 'contracted' (not "agency") -- nurses doing the same job? (Obviously I think so, or I wouldn't be writing this. ha) It seems like the middle company is taking what would be "my" benefits, and then paying me what's left over. This system, apparently, is not costing the state any less, either, like they thought it would. And, the state has made the directors of nursing and top local administrators state employees, so there must be some attraction to it. It doesn't seem fair to the rest of us. Op