crn16

Be prepared to get thrown in rather quickly. My orientation was pretty good, but that was because a) my boss wants to change the old system throwing people in and letting them figure it b) Corrections was my first nursing job, so naturally I needed I needed extra training. You are lucky that you have ED training, excellent assessment skills are a must have for this job. But I also see 2 potential downfalls to your ED knowledge: they will probably feel more comfortable just throwing you in and you will be acting as a first responder, not an ED nurse and there is a difference. Expect to use primitive equipment and have COs who are EMTs and will complain that you do things wrong. The officers are the main reason I hate responding to emergencies. They watch your every move, often say "well shouldn't you..." and proceed to tell the entire jail that you did this and that wrong. I was not prepared for emergencies at all when I finished orientation. As a result I fumbled while using the old O2 tank and looked like an ass.

Working crazy hours, weekends and holidays are basically what you sign up for when you are a nurse. I'm sorry, I realize that is not the answer you were looking for but it is the truth. You need to get what you can take for the first couple of years and then try: school nursing (you will need extra schooling for this), a private office (many don't hire RNs), out-pt surgery center (many use surgical techs) or endoscopy. I'm not trying to be a wise-*** but didn't you consider this before deciding to go to nursing school?

Medical is different in a county jail because they are coming right in from the streets before they go to state or federal. Many of them receive minimal to no health care on the outside so we have to stablize them. Not only is their health poor, many of them are detoxing, which can be a nightmare. Many of them are also suicidal at the begining of their incarceration, on average we have 1-2 suicide attempts per month. The suicide attempts are usually hanging from the top bunk or jumping from the 2nd tier.

I saw the listing online and faxed my resume.

Just be 100% honest about it and you should be fine. In fact I have a similar situation. My DL was suspended for a year because I didn't pay a speeding ticket, I told them exactly what happened and they were fine with it. I also got into trouble for underage drinking as a teenager and they basically laughed about it, but thanked me for my brutal honesty. They told me from the first interview "be totally honest about everything and we won't have a problem". They find out everything you have been caught doing and if you lie about anything they drop you from consideration at once. I honestly don't think your driving record will hurt your chances as long as you disclose the information. Good luck!!!

Congrats!!! It is so refreshing to hear someone who is actually grateful for a wonderful opportunity. Many of my friends have turned down jobs because they don't like the pay or shift....hello people take what you can get and thank God that you actually got a job in this economy! Congrats again!!!

I am a new grad in corrections and love it, but it does pose some problems for the newbie. It is such an autonomous position and no matter how well you did in school new grads don't have the assessment skills and instinct of the seasoned nurse. Some of the calls I have had to make have really frightened me. I work evenings so there are no doctors around and on many occasions the on call dr hasn't answered the phone. We are the first responders in emergencies and nursing school does not prepare you to take on the role of a first responder. The amount of work can be quite daunting, this is how my night went: Sharps and narcotic count, gave insulin to 20 inmates, transcribed 12 orders (and it is usually far more), signed out 15 narcotics, gave meds to 200 people, during that med pass collected 16 sick call slips and assessed those people, in the middle of med pass had to respond to an emergency on the other side of the jail (very messy suicide attempt), finish med pass, clean out the cart, document on the 16 sick call slips, document all of my med no shows and write up consultations for people refusing meds. We have 3 hours to do med pass and I have had well over 30 sick call slips to assess, plus I usually have to detox assessments on med pass. And during all of this you have the jerks who fight with you because you won't give them motrin without an order etc... The plus side: I have seen such a wide variety of illness and emergencies in 5 short months, I have been pushed to develope insticts and strong assesment skills, and I have greatly helped people who never had healthcare on the outside and many of them thank me on a daily basis. And one of my favorite things is the amount of laughter I have at work, people do and say the craziest crap and all you can do is crack up sometimes. If you can get a corrections job go for it!! Sorry for all of the spelling errors and rambling, just got home from work and I'm beat.

Why do you want to do an LPN program first? If you want to be an RN I suggest going right into that.

I have never had this happen and if it did I would report it immediately. They will most likely know your last name. Most correctional facilities identify all employees by first initial and last name. I would be more concerned about when they are released. If you do get the job I suggest changing your address with the nursing board to the address of your employer since our addresses with the board are public record.

I am an RN with an AAS.

Wow Tyler, what a kind-hearted nurse you are.

Our top meds are: Trazodone, vistaril, thorazine, remeron, risperdal, seroquel, lisinopril, norvasc, vancomycin and motrin. We only have one LVN, but I think most facilities have more than that. Everyday is different. I feel safe but I think that really depends on your facility and your personality. I'm an RN that was hired right out of nursing school.

It is a county jail so I am a county employee. The day starts with count, corrections count is longer than a typical hospital count. Every key, syringe, laceration tray, staple remover, scissor, nail clipper, forcep, scalpel, ring cutter and of course narcotic has to be counted. Then you get report on all of the pts in the infirmiry, which can be upto 25. From there you get your assignments from whoever is assigned to be charge nurse that shift, which include: infirmiry rounds, clinic, insulin line, emergency responder, med pass and booking. So your day really depends on which assignments you get, you get multiple assignments because we only have 3-5 nurses per shift. Assignment breakdown: -Infirmiry rounds: You assess every pt, do vitals (we don't have any CNA's), chart and give them their meds. -Clinic: This really depends on your shift. The MD is there Mon-Fri from 9a-5p so you set him up with physicals, assess anybody who is sick and do treatments. Treatments consist of wound care and taking BPs on any inmates who are not housed on the medical unit but need their BP monitired on a daily basis. Evenings do any left over treatments and assess anyone who comes down with injuries, chest pain etc. -Insulin line: All the diabetics get called to the medical unit for accuchecks and insulin at 7a, noon, 4p and 8p. -Emergency responders: Respond to any emergencies. -Med pass: 2 nurses go around the jail, each with a large cart, and give meds to about 200 pts each. While on each housing unit we pickup sick call slips and assess each pt that writes one. After med pass we write notes on each sick call and put them on to see the dr or do whatever needs to be done. This is a very autonmous nursing position. -Booking-We do a health hx, assessment, and ppd on anyone be admitted to the jail. From here we call the dr about any orders we feel are absolutely needed that night (usually these are HTN meds and benzo detox meds). So a typical evening for me may be infirmiry rounds, med pass, clinic and emergency responder, but every evening is different. We always keep busy and the paperwork is insane.

Congrats!!!

I found the add on the sherriff's department website and sent in a resume. Go to all the county jails websites in your area and check for job openings, same for any state or federal prisons in your area. The interview process is intense. My interview was with the head nurse and a cop, while there they ran a quick background check to see if I was eligible to go further in the process. I was given a 25 page application wanting to know everything about me, from every traffic ticket to any money I owed on credit cards ect. After handing that in a detective called me telling me to bring him every document under the sun. When I brought him the documents he questioned me on each of them. Over the course of a month I was bringing him this and that. It was very intense but beyond worth it, I love my job and the starting rate is amazing. Good luck!! If I find any corrections openings I will post them.