Jaila

I agree with deyo. As far as I am aware it is never ok to circle another nurses initials. It should have been passed on to the nurse that you believe made the error &/or call to the MD. I also believe you put yourself in a sticky situation having one inmate translate for the other inmate. We have a translator service we can call. How are you to know you are not intentionally being manipulated or given incorrect information? You may have unintentionally put yourself into an legal/ hippa situation. But as deyo said med errors happen...it sucks, but it is part of it. Don't beat yourself up. We all have made mistakes, or been in situations that we should have handled differently. I believe thats why they say hindsight is 20/20. Just learn from it and move on.

Just one thing to add....the one term I know the officers where I work don't like (and I mean even a little) is guard, or jailer. At least here that is the case. They prefer C.O. or Deputy, or Officer. Just a heads up so you don't offend on accident.

If interested....GOOD LUCK!!!!

We work 10 hr shifts. 1.50 diff for swing & 2.00 for nocs. I have seen new grads hired although they tend to go with experienced nurses. We are salary in that we are required to put in a certain amount of hours...but, we do get paid ot. ( kind of a strange system) Its " salary " ... Kinda / not really. The setting I am in does preceptor local nursing students. I would think all facilities could vary a lot. Best to check with your local facility. Hope this helped

I think you should ask any questions that would make taking this job a deal breaker for you....shift work, pay, benefits, mandatory ot, staffing levels, seniority with regaurd to shift bid, equipment on hand for assessments, etc... As far as what the job entails....it covers the whole spectrum. I think a person can get "burnt out" in any field, nursing or otherwise. There are so many posts on here that you can check out to see if you are interested. I would definitely recommend a tour of the facility and maybe at a busier time for example swings or graveyards when there is typically less support staff (other nurses, doctors, & custody). I personally love it! Check out some of the other posts...and good luck whatever you decide.

We have had a few smart ones even put toothpaste at top of their mouth...the pill ofcourse sticks in it...smart thinking actually for these folks. What won't they think up

I wish you good luck! Honestly it could go either way. Personally I think it would help and not hinder you...but, maybe they want someone they can mold that doesn't already have a mindset or experience with this population. At any rate...Best wishes to you.

Unfortunately where I work we have the very basic equipment for vitals, responder bag/ AED, suction, o2....No EKG, and your assessment skills. We don't have a doc in house (at night) but can reach him by phone (most times) when needed. Ofcourse we have the authority to send an inmate out to er by ambulance or car without an md order. From what I understand a lot of jails or prisons have much more available in the way of equipment. Good luck! I have said it many times but it is a great job. Let us know what happens.

Interesting how one sided you view things in not only corrections but the medical care inmates receive. If you had personal experience in being a nurse responsible for peoples lives, or working somewhere in corrections I think your opinions would be different and more realistic. But you continue to make broad generalizations based on your clearly biased research. For now I think you are someone who has nothing but time on your hands to do a little reading and then sit back judging others on something when you have no actual qualifications to do so. It has all just turned into blah blah blah...enough said!

I have never (yet) felt that I had to justify having sent someone out and it turned out in the end they were ok. And I would agree good documentation is key. I do my job to the best of my ability for not only liability reasons but inmates health--that is my job. I work alone on nights and with very limited equipment I have to rely greatly on assessment skills. In those situations ( and there are times when you just can't know for sure ) where it is a potentially dangerous scenario for the inmate and I can't be certain (doubt) then I do send them out. There have also been times when I have placed a call to the MD and reviewed the inmate complaint, my assessment findings, anything I didn't look at that they think is key?...and let them make the call. Having to defend to someone that I sent an inmate out seems absurd to me. I imagine it would really get my hackles up. Now that said, at the department I work at they don't like you sending out for other than emergencies. You have to be comfortable with saying this can wait til morning or this can't.

It doesn't sound like we are any cleaner, maybe even dirtier although I have not worked in prison setting only county jail. As far as safety I never doubt my officers ability or desire to keep me safe. I am soooo well protected it's amazing....I mean to even look at me cross eyed will get you flunked in booking. Paperwork is everywhere...literally because where I am at we don't have emr yet so everything by hand and lots of cya paperwork.

lol...the cleanliness part of your question made me laugh a little. Jail is the dirtiest place I have ever worked! People right in off the streets in poor health that are intox/high peuking and urinating wherever in their holding cells. Lots of open wounds/ abscesses with our drug users....lots of mrsa. Dt'ers doing crazy things. Then you get your injuries, people that have tried to run from the police &/or their dog or been in altercation with someone. Suicidal and mental health cases. We see such a variety of things I couldn't even begin to list them all. But just when you think you have seen it all...you get something new. It is fun and ever changing. Lots of inmate turnover but also lots of frequent flyers that you get to know with time like it or not. Our county jail doesn't use a contract company. We are all county employees with good benefits for medical, dental, life, pension. Hope some of this information is helpful...have fun!

Amen to everything Orca said...nicely put. Eyes open, head on straight, good assesment skills, good / fair attitude...you are not the judge and jury... Good luck it's awesome fun!

Pass.. Don't need it

I don't know of that particular facility, but...where I work we have interview, oral boards, integrity interview, physical, lie detector...the whole canole, then the job offer. Took about 3 to 4 months to jump all those hoops. No idea if you have to go through that, but hang in there...and a follow up email or call to express continued interest couldn't hurt.