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!

I currently work as an LPN, on the nightshift (12 hour shifts) and I love it. I have been here just over 3 years and even though I have experience in many other fields (was a medical assistant for 15 years prior to going back to school) and I couldn't picture myself doing anything else. Always remember to treat your patients as PATIENTS not INMATES ... that is the deputies job. Don't judge, and treat them with respect and how you would want to be treated. If they ask for meds that are not on their MAR, (depending on your facilities protocols) DON'T GIVE IT TO THEM. Document, document and did I say document? Corrections is a much looked over part of public health, but can be very rewarding! Good luck! ~Amy

Hey all! I started our PN program in April, 2008 and graduate in April, 2009. We just started our third term and it does get harder as time goes on. I am a mom of two, 19 and 12 and also a medical assistant at the county jail. So I get to practice ALL of my skills while at work. (I have a wonderful DON who loves to teach). I have to admit it is a challenge being in school Mon-Fri and working Fri-Sun for a full year, but it will all be worth it in the end! Rock on fellow students!:typing ~Amy

7p-7a ... Welcome to my shift! I too work that shift in a "relatively" small county jail in Florida. (2000+) I love my shift, I love my officers. The inmates are my patients and well I treat them as such. I work in the smaller of the two buildings which house all females and some males and all new arrestees. On our shift, the LPN's are responsible for the evening pill pass for the females, the 3am accuchecks and any medical emergencies that may arise. We have a medical assistant who takes care of all of our wound care, labwork, and chart noting. In the other building we have an RN who runs the "infirmary" and 2 more LPN's who are responsible for their pill passes. The night shift is just that ... we are there for emergencies after 10pm. We are a skeleton crew but work as a team to make sure everyone is "medically safe" at night. I have one strict rule ... NO ONE dies on my shift. They may have a HR of 10 when they left the building ... but by God, they had a HR!

Welcome to prison! If you are in Level 5 and that is all they are doing ... consider yourself lucky! This is a daily affair in correctional nursing and if it really offends/upsets you, this isn't your field. This is not for the faint at heart. I/M Games 101 ... Fluster the nurse. They want reaction, they want to embarrass you and they want to see you cry. Once they get their wanker slammed in the food flap by the nurse, they will think twice!

You does your OB care? We have a contracted OB that comes in every week and he normally brings us all the pt ed we need. BTW ... cabbage leaves are what we use to dry them up ...

I work in a county detention facility where 2 floors are men and 1 floor women. I spend more time on the female floor hands down. With that being said, I find my work more rewarding working with the women. Yes, they are a lot needier; True they have problems up the wazoo ... but when you have a female come in cracked-out or on Methadone, pregnant, homeless and scared YOU are the only who is probably treating them with any shred of humanity. Once you get them detox'd off of whatever it is that they are coming off of, they do their time and hopefully deliver a healthy, CLEAN baby ... What a feeling! I have had girls come up to me in Wal-Mart and show me their babies and tell me "Miss Amy, I'm still clean" or "My baby is testing HIV-neg" (when the mom is pos) and even "I know you were tough on me, but I deserved it" ... and it shows me that I have done my job well. So, YES ... you will do a lot more hand-holding. But I know I sleep better at the end of my shift knowing I made a difference that day. Because really, isn't that what we are here for?

They are in jail NOT the Hilton. I have no problem telling them that. In my area, girls get arrested just to have the county pay for their birthing ... it stinks, but true. I let the IM know when they get out of line for me and have no problems sending them for "8 hour medical watch" (i.e. tank time), if they feel it is that detrimental. That usually "cures" their symptoms. After a while you get to know who is "looking for entertainment" or has a legit problem. ~AMY~

No, no self defense training in our facility. About a year ago, while running meds in an open female pod (80 girls to 1 officer) I ticked off one of the female inmates (she was a known "Signal 25" ... 5150 ... whatever you call the mentally "unfit" in your facility) ... anyway, unaware that I ticked her off she picked up a carton of milk and chucked it at my head. If it weren't for the other inmates around me, she would have nailed me. At the same time 3 other girls, tackled her. Most inmates will defend the nurses before anyone else. They know WE have the key to their drugs! Regardless of their history, charges etc., they are still our patients. If you treat them with that respect ... you will never have a problem. ~Amy~

In our facility, the inmates KOP their inhalers (unless they are steroidal). Period. If they are found to abuse them, they are taken and if they need to be treated for an acute attack, they get a neb tx. Who has time to be running up to pods and blocks because "Inmate 123456" needs a hit off his/her inhaler ... Although, the thought of "orificenic and Old Lace" via Cidex is increasingly intriguing ...

Just like hospitals fear JCAHO ... Prisons and Jails fear NCCHC. "NCCHC" is the "JCAHO" of the Correctional Health Care System. They have a website too ...