NurseLite

I loved working with Armor. Wish they would come out to California ... :)

Done :)

I worked for Armor for 3 years while they held our contract in Escambia County. I started off as a medical assistant on the night shift, and with their help and ecouragement (not to mention tuition reimbursement, not a lot, but it helped), I went back to school, while working, to get my LPN. The admin staff was wonderful with adjusting my schedule for class and clinicals. They offer tons of education! They are also very proactive with making sure that the nurses are comfortable with their positions and offer extra training if need be. Their pay rates are very competitive, especially since we were located in an area that the cost of living had tripled, but wages had not. Good luck!

Exactly! Regardless ... they are "our patients" and the "officers' inmates".

Why don't we just install a Valium salt lick in the pods ... we would have absolutely no problems after that!!

Yep ... Welcome to jail! LOL

"The jail system seemed like a very relaxed place to work." No, not relaxing on my shift! I am the intake nurse on the night shift in our county jail. I get them in handcuffs, cracked out and beligerent. You have to have a keen sense for BS, because they WILL try to blow smoke. We don't have the luxury of an MD on staff at night, so we call the shots (no pun intended). You must have excellent assessment skills, because when "Inmate Joe" hits the deck, you have about 30 seconds to figure out why before the LT is over your shoulder. In our building, we have 2 nurses from 11p-7a for 2,000 inmates, male and female. Relaxing? No ... Challenging? Yes ... Exciting? ABSOLUTELY!

Even inmates have the right to refuse care and treatment. Make sure you have them sign all refusals and release of liability. Psych eval is not a bad idea. Try to encourage a little further testing. Diabetes can do a number on all organ systems ... if a patient's ammonia level rises, they are not considered competent enough to make decisions regarding their care ... Just something to think about.

It's always discouraging when you hear that the inmates have more rights than we do. BUT I stand firm in that we, as nurses, are PATIENT advocates, NOT family advocates. In correctional medicine, you will still have to deal with a certain number of family members that will call, but it is so much better than having Mr. Smith telling you that you are not taking care of "Mama" right. Where else can you tell a non-compliant patient to "stick this up your a$$" and get away with it? (yes, I am referring to a suppository, so those PC folks don't get upset) You can keep the hospital and all the JCAHO that goes with it ...

I am an LPN and have been in corrections and pediatrics for several years. Even when I was in school and clinical rotations, our studies in Ocology were extremely limited. Here is my query ... Our mom is receiving Herceptin treatments along with Carboplatin and Taxotere for HER2+ Stage 3 breast cancer. Her WBC's have dropped below 5,000 on 2 occasions, causing them to skip her weekly treatments. Being in a small town, our medical libraries are very limited and the MD and nurses are not so helpful in providing ideas on how to help maintain her counts. It has also been told she is not a candidate for Neupogen injections. We were given a list of foods that she can eat and that was it. Any other suggestions? Or ideas on where I can find more research on this subject? Thank you so much for all you do!!! Amy

We using CorrecTek ... pretty user friendly

Cavity searches are a security, not a medical issue. As nurses, we are not trained, nor are we trained in the security of an inmate should the inmate resist. We may stand-by in case of emergency, but all-in-all, cavity searches are for trained security staff.

Lacie It all depends on if you are hired by state, county or private contract. Every county's pay scale is different. I am in Escambia, which is one of the poorest counties in Florida, so our pay scale is off! Here at our private contract company LPN's start at around $17/hr and RN's start at around $23/hr. We also get a shift differential for nights and weekends. I couldn't tell you what other facilities pay. And I am not sure about Veterans preferences. I would feel that whoever is better qualified for the job would be the fairest choice.

I have five simple words for my techs: "Please don't touch my lines" . While I value the work my techs do, I certainly don't want them to do anything outside their scope ... not only is it their a$$, it's my license on the line.

Thanks "Pretty", you gave me a lot of insight of where my "kids" go after they are "sent down the road"! I am in Escambia County and work with our female population and you hit in on the head with the emotional, manipulative women!