Ion

What they did is no different than if they had physically put a knife in you. They assaulted your character, your career, your well being and everything else. Anyone who respects character and believes a man's word is his legal contract with life should understand what they did to you. I hope the best for you. Stand tall and stare down the demons.

I know a nurse who did this. The inmate filed a grievance against her, went to the grievance officer and then the warden. The warden informed the inmate that based on nurse "X"'s experience in nursing and assessment, that she is qualified to know if the appendage is small or not, and the inmate should keep his britches up.

Stuff happens. You are respected more for standing up for yourself, than turning the other cheek. The criminal inmate mind is mainly about two things- respect and greed. If you are solid, they will take their games somewhere else and your job will be easy compared to the people still being hassled by the inmates. Doing the job is what we are there for, that is what it is all about.

My friend had an inmate using the "F" word. He let him know he was going to sue him for sexual harassment. Every time he got close to a new bag of Ramen at the commissary, my friend would be there waiting before him to collect it. He would work a second job if needed to hire the best lawyer he could find to sue the inmate so far into oblivion that if the inmate was ever lucky enough to score big in a lawsuit, the nurse would still be collecting the money in front of him. The inmate considered his options, namely being an "indentured servant" to his pod because he would never be able to retain any sense of wealth or property, even in prison. The inmate apologized and there were no further problems. Inmates do what you let them do, and you should expect them to try and get away with as much as they can, because they aren't exactly there for being model citizens. At the same time, keep in mind that a lot of guys are just doing their time, don't want any trouble and are there because they made a bad mistake any of us could have. Don't become cruel because nurses are there to bring the inmates up to their level, and provide nursing care/ services.

Guilty is guilty. This is the same logic as putting someone back on the street who butchered a group of kids because they had psych issues. If the false allegation of a patient has the potential to affect a nurse's career, then the person making the false allegation must be held equally responsible. At the least, legal action against them for falsely attacking a nurse would have them same effect as having them walk around with a placard over them that says "I am a liar, and my word is worthless". We need to quit victim attitude and set the precedence that nurse do not take physical or legal abuse. We have the right to self preservation in all forms. Creating a paper trail of the client will not only help this nurse and the organization in the future, but also protect other people who may suffer false allegations from the party in the future.

Most of the world's dumps are that way because of the people who live there. Not all of the people, but whoever is in charge, and usually because they are in charge behind the barrel of a Kalashnikov. They are a dump because the guy with all the Kalashnikovs wants it that way. Starving people are easy to control, and a handful of rice is a cheap way to control someone who has already lost their children and whatever ones are left have swollen bellies and are dragging themselves one step ahead of the vultures behind them. The bad guys take a fertile nation like Rhodesia, that could feed the entire continent, and reduce it to dependent on external supply. The bad guys create a murder rate in a border town like Juarez that exceeds our casualty rate in Iraq. The bad guys kidnap Americans and cut off their heads while the victim is still breathing and choking on his own blood and then post the video on the Internet. Yes, there are good people trapped in the mess of all this that need help. You will be able to help them at the convenience of the local head bad guy who views genocide as an admirable goal instead of a terrible outcome. You may not come back. You may suffer a terrible fate. If you decide to go, then accept the risks and the possible futility of your actions. The only vaccine capable of removing an evil dictator is usually a young man with short hair, a rifle and someone he calls sir. You probably won't change the world. Your actions will likely go unnoticed. You may give someone a chance at a little better life, a little less suffering and have a little bit more hope. If that is what you would want, then I would consider it an admirable goal, and wish you the best of luck in your endeavors.

The less rules they give you, the more free you are in your self defense actions. A small course at work will usually teach you enough to get hurt. If something goes down, you have to move from realizing something happened, to realizing you need to do something, and finally to actually doing it. If they go for the nurse, then there are no officers or the officer is already engaged. You will have to fight harder than the person who is trying to hurt or kill you. If you are hurt, you make a choice to be a victim or to keep fighting. You have to make the choice to go for the radio, or a button, if you can get to one. Do you have a man down button on your radio? Where is your radio if you have one? Hope you are not a complacent nurse who left their radio. When a fight in corrections goes down, it happens fast. There are no second place winners. The best way to keep from losing a fight is to not enter one, but when you must fight, will you fight to win?

Support tort reform. We need to sue, incarcerate and severely punish people who make false allegations.

Part of public health is taking care of the under represented, the sick, the needy and that includes inmates. There is some dignity in that. Corrections is a good experience for anyone. You learn to deal with difficult people, usually learn at least one new curse word, and you realize your mom and dad weren't as bad as you thought they were, and how lucky you are to have them.

my thoughts are that you were sexually harassed, but you have rights that protect you. my other thought when i meet a new nurse isn't if they are gay. why would someone really care? i care more about how well they do the job, because that is what we are there for. don't let it get to you. if someone made a statement i was a "gay nurse" or even simply a "male nurse" i look at them and correct them to "registered nurse".

You get a priority when they want the water cooler changed.

Work some place where you can do homework. You will have plenty of time to work hard later.

In my experience, gender has a lot to do with it, Princess. Maybe most women are not as nasty as our criminal men. Women do not make up the majority of the population in most jails, but are usually about 50%-ish of the general population in the community. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Best of luck.

X-ray tech

That about sums it up, but you expect it from the inmates. There are some great nurses in this field, but some bad ones too. The story of anywhere.