rn711

Many moons ago I worked at a restaurant called the "Catfish Shack". During orientation, the hostesses had to practice over the mike "Good afternoon, welcome to the Catfish Shack". After many practices, it was my turn for the mike where I calmly said "Good afternoon, Welcome to the CATSHIT FACK". It's been over twenty years, and I still have to concentrate really hard and speak really slow to say it correctly.

i'm red!!!!!! i work in corrections, so i chose red for two reasons: 1-when everyone else is down, i like to add a little color and energy 2-when the occasion arises, i can be hot as a firecracker! great poll, by the way.

As I was packing for my business trip, my 3-year old daughter was having a wonderful time playing on the bed. At one point, she said, "Daddy, look at this," and stuck out two of her fingers. Trying to keep her entertained, I reached out and stuck her tiny fingers in my mouth and said, "Daddy's gonna eat your fingers!" pretending to eat them before I rushed out of the room again. When I returned, my daughter was standing on the bed staring at her fingers with a devastated look on her face. I said, "What's wrong, honey?" She replied, "What happened to my booger?"

As a nurse in a local county jail, I have a motto "My job is to keep you healthy, not happy". Medical problems are addressed according to need just as triage nurses do at hospitals. If there is any question at all regarding an inmate's condition, they get transported to the ER for evaluation.

Usually a written disciplinary report is just that. It goes in your personnel file. Your head nurse or nurse manager also verbally counsels you on your error. At my prior place of employment, we used a scale which included things like pt/nurse ratio, if the nurse was in a different location than her norm, was there any harm to patient, etc. The scoring system then assigned a number to the incident. The higher the number, the more serious the incident. You get my drift. Hang in there!

RELAX!!!!! I took the NCLEX in 1997. My computer shut down after 75 questions and I felt very confident. I took a terrific course before taking the test. The instructor told our class that if you only got 75 questions, and your questions were of the "higher level critical thinking" variety toward the end, you most likely passed. She was right. Good luck!

My prayers to the nurse who was attacked. This has happened several times at our state mental hospital, but as far as I know, never in the private sector. Hopefully, this will not be " swept under the rug" so that new laws and guidelines can prevent future attacks such as this one.

To eask: Eager to learn more about forensic nursing. I work in corrections right now and am thinking of trying for a certification in forensics.

Very good advice-But what to do if you work in Psych and you have to give Haldol/Ativan to an agitated patient? Vanish point syringes to the rescue!

You said it, Tweety! I am also the product of a community college. In my area, when established nurses at a hospital hear that a new hire is from our AD program, they shout HOORAY! It seems that our AD program nurses are better at their "skills and assessments" than our BSN nurses. To the high school student- PERSEVERE! Don't sweat not getting into college prep classes right now. Enjoy your high school years and do your very best.

To acuteobrn re: tension in the workplace If your coworker is having tantrums and unable to make wise decisions, you MUST do something. Document her "explosions" and if your boss is out of town, take it to someone else. You and your fellow employees could be held accountable if her actions jeopardize the safety of a patient and word gets out that you knew she was unreliable. Good luck and let us know how things work out.

Ditto to all who enjoy working with the male prison population more than the females! To date, we have about 40 women and 260 men. I would rather have 100 more men (whatever their charge) and get rid of the 40 women. They "whine" all the time and need a sick call slip if they get a pimple! I can't seem to convince them that my job is to keep them healthy, not happy!

The RN part is obvious. The "711" is our race car number. I use this name for nearly everything on the computer.

TO: MsLpn02 I'm also from Mississippi. Working in corrections and lovin' it!

Doesn't it make you feel better just to "vent"? Sorry for your troubles tonight. Can't think of an answer to your problem, but just wanted you to know that you are not alone.

I'm not sure exactly of my salary while there. I think I made around 18 an hour with 10% shift differential. I worked there the full four years of my contract. It costs alot to break your contract with interest rates and such. I didn't work there while going to school. They paid me 1,000 monthly (twelve months a year) while I was in school. You have the option of working there in the summer or continuing to go to class. I took summer school courses that were approved by them (I took electives like speech, art appreciation, literature, etc.) I truly loved my four years there. As I said before, I only left because I stumbled into a better job (no nights, no weekends) with better pay. The benefits at Whitfield are good. The one thing that Mississippi can be proud of is the benefits if employed by the state and the retirement system. I urge you to check this program out. You can work psych or nursing home, but most of the ed leave nurses are placed in psych work. Good luck, Cyndy

As the only nurse at our local jail, I have had to call EMS numerous occasions. NEVER have the workers treated me or the inmate with anything but the utmost respect. In my personal life, I have also had occasion to call EMS for my father who is 76 y/o and diabetic. Once again, the EMS workers treated my family and me with respect and compassion. I'm sure there are some EMS workers who deserve the "bashing" they have received on this board, but I just wanted to express my appreciation for the EMS workers in Rankin County, Mississippi.

Don't leave out psych or correctional nursing. Keep an open mind.

I worked as an RN at Whitfield for 4 years. I loved it! I only left because I found an equally rewarding job at our local county jail. I was an "Ed Leave" nurse. Once I was accepted to nursing school, I applied at Whitfield. They paid me a monthly salary in return for a 4 year commitment to work there.I didn't find it hard to work there at all. In fact, the last year I worked there, I was a supervisor.

:balloons: Way to go, Michelle, RN!!!!! I still remember the thrill I got when I passed boards. Mission accomplished.:)