aknurs

Ditto Safety first! I have seen to many inmates who have faked fainting, etc....to get out of their cells...I worked in an ER in the past & I have seen fakers there also..inmates just refine the technique...Not to say there are not "true emergencies"...But Safety is always first..

In my facility,,Medical does not get involved with strip searches, never.... Only security...as they are the ones looking for contraband..etc

I think how busy you are on nights, would depend on the ratio of prisoners/nurses...I am the only night nurse with a little over 500 inmates...I am "very busy" at night..They only time I sit down & do not answer an almost constant ringing phone, is to take my supper break. I do have my radio with me in case an emergency arises, while I am having supper. In an emergency I am the only one there..so nights can be more busy than days...just depends..I forgot to add...I love working nights.....cause I'm the Queen of the Night ! LOL

I worked in an ER for 7-8 years prior to Corrections. The hospital I worked in, had a Hospital Based Ambulance Service, that covered 5 counties...So although small in comparison to other ER's, we were busy & saw a lot of different emergencies.

I think you pretty well hit the nail on the head!....

In some prisons there are different turn-around as far as intakes go, of course this is depending on the institution. (We usually get 2-3 groups of inmates going out & coming in 3x wkly,of course that's tentative)..If you get stressful with emergencies, than maybe a prison would not be for you, as there will be the occasional beating, stabbing , rapeing & you name it, to come along, just when you sit down on your coffee break..As far as a safe place to work, to me it is safer than the ER I used to work in..I know who the bad guys are, & I work with exceptional correctional officers, who look out for me, as much as I look out after myself.

Defiantly ER experience will be the best...Depending upon the size of the Prison, you never know what will be brought into the department, ie: beatings, stabbings, medical emergencies, etc...Although it is on a smaller scale than a regular ER, you will need to use the same triage assessments, & care ,accordingly as you would in an ER....Plus ER experience will look better on a Resume if you are applying for a Correctional Job, as prompt triage & assesment skills are a must when working in Corrections.JMO

1. Right now where I work it's overcrowded. Our all male 538 population has risen to 550+ There are more fights between inmates & more frequent attacks from the inmates to the officers. Staffing of officers is short. 2. I treat the inmates fairly,& all alike.. I am not part of their punishment. I have been working with them for over 11 years, now & have had problems with 3 inmates...I am lucky 3. The officers are very supportive, helpful when I am working alone, & will watch my back..& respect my decisions..I am very lucky. 4. There are always dangerous situations,as things can turn sour in a heart beat. Most of the time not...but I always expect the unexpected, to ensure not being caught off guard. It has worked for me for 11 years.:) 5. All the nurses think the way I do. We are not their judge, we are not there to punish them. We are nurses. 6. PA is there 5 days a week & on call after hours (he gets a break when he's on vacation) A Dr. comes to our facility once a week.. 7. I love my job. I like the Medical staff I work with, I like the officers I work with..... They're the best!

You could & probably will be called nasty names, shown body parts when you don't want to see them. Taking care of inmates who have gotten into fights. Inmates who kill their cell mates (only two of this senereo in the last 10 years at my facility). You are working with some people who have committed violent crimes, most of the time ,they do not change. The Correctional Officers usually get the worst end of things occasional thank goodness(ie: Urine & feces thrown on them, head butting from the inmate, etc) But as a medical person, you will see a lot. Bottom line, they are incarcerated because they do not play well with others. Some change, most will not. I have to agree with BradyR..you do get to keep up with your nursing skills, as far as trauma & assesment & quick decision making goes. I loooooove it!

In my facility the MAR's are created by using the Excell Program on the computer. We (meaning me) change them & update them every month. Orders change, meds get d/c 'd. The I/M do not touch our MAR's. they are for the nurses to record medications on,as we have three pill lines & Keep On Person Meds. I don't know if this system would work in a jail, as people are coming and going a lot. But you could try the Excell program to create one. ie: at the top of the page: First Row: Name & Obcsis next cell, Birthdate, next cell facility name,next cell Month & allergies below. Next: a block of cells with staff nurses names.titles/a space to initial Next: Medication Next days of the week, for the month (ie: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ie( 0800 nurses initials are wrote in the blocks 1315 1700 2000 Hope this helps:wink2:

In my facility anytime we go to a cell extraction,(if medical personnel are in the facility, we are required to attend a cell extraction) we are given a mask to wear,(along with the extraction team). Unfortunately cell extractions & pepper spray are a part of prison life. (it is termed as "non-deadly force" to get an inmate to comply).Before an extraction we are required to see if there is a medical reason, that the inmate can not be sprayed(ie: asthma,copd, etc) I also check to see if any of the inmate in the immediate area could have a problem also, as the spray permeates the area. Security should provide a mask of some type, for the staff involved in this type of substance,as it is oily and sticks to everything it comes in contact with. I would think it would also be an OSHA issue...But not to be rude, the bottom line is , if you do not want to be exposed to pepper spray,maybe you should think about working somewhere besides a jail or prison setting, as that seems to be the standard procedure to obtain compliance, in lieu of using a taser, which it is a last resort where I work. The spray is almost allways used first.

There is a Community Hospice in Harrison.I the Nursing Staff is Hired/Provided by North Ark.Regional Medical Center....It was built,owned & is operated by "The Community". North Ark, provides the pay for the nursing staff, as a Service to the Community.

I have to say I agree , you should have some hospital experience, before you decide to go into correctional nursing. You will have to have extremely good skills at triage, assessment, emergency nursing, as well as dealing with people who are manipulative, & who do not tell the truth all the time. Trust me , as I work with a nurse who has only had Nursing Home Experience,(& can't seem to acquire these important skills) your co-workers will get tired of holding your hand(so to speak) after a while & will let you drown.

Articnurse .Which Facility do you work in? Maybe I can help you out. If the inmate is not on a mandatory medication, I would have the officers keep him from your medline, until his behavior changes..What the inmate is doing is not acceptable. And there are ways, to get security to help you out..... I've figured out which facility..I can e-mail you and help you out if you wish...But...like i said, if the inmate in not on a mandatory medication, call his mod officer,& tell him that the inmate is to not show up at medline, until he can behave himself. Or another option: Some of the officers are new, if so, you will have tell them how the inmate is supposed to behave during pill call. I know you shouldn't have to do that, but new officers sometimes, don't know what to expect, or what all the rules are. (You have to gently guide them.LOL) If the medication the inmate is on, is a mandatory one. Have mental health talk to him...they will help you out also. :)

I have been in nursing for quite some time, & have really enjoyed it. But when my oldest daughter wanted to go into health care, & was concerned about the beside vomiting,diarrhea & everything else that is involved in caring for sick people, I recommeded Radiology to her. She is now taking classes (& is top in her class,I might proudly add) towards a career in Radiology. She will still be able to help people, the Dr's will be fairly decent to her,can travel if she wants to, & "no one usually ever sues the picture taker". So I always reccommed Radiology. I do think if I were to go back to school,after retirement, I would go into Radiology myself. But I am planning on something totaly different, right now.

The facility where I work is only slow paced at times. We have around 530 inmates, who can't play well with others, so we have fights, we have trauma, we have industry accidents, the geriatric group has heart attacks, they all seem to have medical, mental health or dental problems. We have inmates transporting in & going out all the time. We have a sick call clinic 5 days a week, dental twice a week, PT, once a week X-ray every other week, three med passes to the open population & three med passes to the Maximum House everyday.It is slower than the ER I used to work in, but there are times, that I have worked up a sweat..Then there is the stress that comes with working with inmates, Corrections is a high stress place to work, as you are working with people that are society challenged, & some of them have a 200 year sentence..A better long term care facility , with less stress would be a Nursing Home type of place..But that is just my opinion...I like high stress places myself.

It's a really popular drug "on the yard" where I work...Popular meds get crushed, unless there is a contraindication. But I have seen inmates that have gotten caught with cheeking liquid meds, after a mouth search...It's Totally amazing (& educational) as to how they do it.

Remember this also. Physicians get paid good money, to be called, when it concerns their patient. If he /she chooses to ignore your assessment, then it will be their problem, & not yours. Just be sure to chart, any & all phone calls to the Physician, plus their response ,to your concern... Years ago, when I worked in an ER (7P--7A), my favorite thing was to call the Dr.s & wake them up...I miss that.:)

I concur. You have to remember, if you give or do something for one inmate ,you have to do the same for all of them..It is best to just say no most of the time.LOL (That's speaking figuratively of course) :wink2:

I worked in an ER for 7 years. After that I went into Corrections, & am still in Prison....I have found it's not that much different than working in the ER. You never know what kind of night you are going to have. Or what kind of injuries you will see..It's just a little slower paced.:wink2:

When I worked in the ER, we had a policy."No Ride, No Shot". It worked pretty good, but we had the few who would, lie & tell us their ride was either coming, getting the tire fixed, or whatever excuse..They were still told ,sorry we have to know for a fact , that your ride is ready, to take you home after your 20 min. shot time was up.(Anyone who received an injection, had a mandatory 20 min. wait, before they could be D/C..(the hospital was afraid of the liability issues that could arise, if the pt. was discharged & got involved in an accident, because of a narcotic inj.)..The only exception I made to that rule ,was one time, when I placed a phone call for a patient, to their friend, & got a verbal confirmation, that they would come & pick up the friend(pt.).They were true to their word, & took the pt. home.

At my facility, the inmates do not demand anything!. Most B.P's are done during the daytime, as there are more nurses then. We schedule certain inmates who either have hypertension, or take medications that warrant a BP check (either weekly or monthly). The last 2 Fridays of each month, we have a free BP clinic, from 14:00--14:30...Anyone can have their BP at this time. When an Inmate comes up & demands you do something for them,"now". They are definatly out of line. An inmate like that ,would be taken straight to the "hole",at my facility.

I love it also. You get to practice your Assessment skills, your Trauma Nursing skills,Legalities of Nursing,Your Psyche skills,Teaching skills, and being able to adapt and overcome when you run out of supplies... ie: if you take apart an air cast ankle splint, you can use it to splint a wrist, if you run out of wrist splints.. Never knowing what will darken your medical doorstep, is almost like working in an ER., except you have a contained clientele.. Did I mention Prison is a nice place to be, then you get to go home.:wink2:

If you want to go into Nursing, listen to your heart, not what a councilor is telling you.When I was taking an A&P & Chemistry Class at the same time, My instructor,who happen to be for both classes, asked me how I got into his Chemistry class, as A&P was a pre-req to Chemistry? I told him My Councilor said I could take them together.(I was making B's in both classes so it didn't matter) but the point is. You can do anything you put your mind to do...Don't let one person, who says you can't, keep you from doing what "You" want to do ,as far as nursing or increasing your knowledge...Councilors don't know, what "you" can do!

That works, but there is sometimes powder residue, left in the cup, (if you put the powdered med in a cup of water). In that case they have to add more water to the cup, to get all of the med..It depends on how much time they have , to take the med.LOL I have approximately 110 inmates in my night medline, the officers, who do the mouth checks, usually want them to do the swallow,they look, & hit the road, routine.:chuckle We use a pill crushing system, where the pill is placed in a plastic pouch,crushed via the crusher, then put in a souffle cup..There is minimal dust, but yes there is a concern,about breathing the dust....It's too bad any of then, have to be crushed