ChuckeRN

In defense of the flight crew, they NEVER talk crap about anyone (maybe because 99% of the patients are really sick), but this time they were TICKED! I wish I knew how they got the call and if they even have a choice to refuse to transport once they are on scene. And had I known the in-house pharmacy refused her meds without her ID, I would have gotten them for her from the pharmacy (which I can do).

That's called Fatal Familial Insomnia. It's real. It's inherited and it's a prion disease. Very rare though.

I work nites in a rural Level 3 trauma center. One night, we had the rotor crew fly in a 22 yo F for BACK PAIN! No trauma, she just woke up that morning with a back ache, but called 911 sometime during the night and somehow a helicopter was dispatched to fly her in. Of course she was texting as she was being brought in. The next night, she was brought in by ambo (by land) AGAIN for the SAME ****. Her story this time, she didn't have ID for our in-patient pharmacy to dispense her narcs, so she didn't get the meds our docs wrote a script for the previous night. To top it off, she asked for a ride BACK to her house.

Yup Haldol.

+1 BSN Syntha-6. My fav is Vanilla Ice Cream. I carry a shaker bottle with a metal ball in it and just add water when I'm ready to drink it. I also carry 2 or 3 apples to eat during my 12 hour shift. Still, I have lost around 30 lbs and 4" off my waist during my 2 years on the floor.

I love it when they come in for dental pain at 6 AM when there's a FREE walk-in dental clinic that opens at 7AM.

We try out nurses from the different departments all the time: ICU, OB, M/S, etc. Whether they are able to keep working in the ED is entirely up that specific nurse. Most can't seem to or want to handle it. In their defense, if they are getting paid the same, why would they want to work harder for the same money? Whenever the census is low, we always encourage other departments to send nurses over to see how we work. Who knows, they may ask to come back for more.

#1. Ask LOTS of questions. All of the docs I work with love to educate and teach. Sometimes, our co-workers are too busy to explain everything, but Docs seem always willing to take the time. #2. Be enthusiastic and willing. You may not be the fastest or the best, but you WILL get faster and better. But the one thing Docs and nurses hate is slackers. So get off your orifice and hustle! #3. Be a team player. Always be willing to help out. Don't ever say, "That's not my patient!". #4. Ask to do things you suck at. Do you suck at infant caths or IVs? Ask to be the first to try it. As long as it's not emergent, most nurses will let you have the first poke or two, or the first try.

+1 I've lost 30 lbs since I starting working in our ED last year.

I work in a Level III Trauma Center in a Navajo Reservation. The closest Level I is 80 miles away so for obvious Level I's, they are flown directly from the event site. Otherwise, we get everything. In a town of 10,000, we saw 35,000 patients in our ED in 2013. We have 8 beds, with 2 trauma beds. We also have a Fast Track ED across the hall with a separate entrance with 10 rooms that closes at 1AM. For a Res with zero alcohol allowed, the majority of our major events are ETOH related. Plus, loots of diabetes related patients from hypo and hyperglycemias to patients coming straight from the dialysis center a mile away. And because Native Americans pay NOTHING for medical care, people have no qualms about calling 911 and getting an ambo ride for things like a sore throat.

I was a nurse in a State Max Security prison. Prior to the interview, I read the thread here that has the most numerous responses and most of the questions posted were asked. You should find and read that thread. In general, depending on the number of inmates, there can be three types of nurses: 1. Med pass nurses (usually LPNs) 2. Yard nurses - Where you see inmates by appointment inside the yard in a clinic type setting with or without a doctor/ 3. Emergency Room nurses. I was an ER nurse and on weekends, the doctors were not on site so I had a lot of independence. I now work in a Level III Trauma center and I know the prison helped me a great deal to prepare for a "real hospital".

A 14 yo girl brought in by ambulance from the next city's small clinic*. Complaint: "lost her tampon". Turns out she forgot she had a tampon in her for 3 weeks. The ER doc removed it and he had a look on his face when he got out of that room. *I work in a small Indian Reservation ER where we are the only hospital for 80 miles around. Though we are technically only a Level 3 Trauma Center, we get everything.

A monkey can start IVs. Don't sweat the small stuff.

We have 5300 inmates in our prison and TID for Watch Swallow meds are impossible for nurses and no go for Security so the meds are always divided into 2 doses.

Sorry guys, but due to the transition, people have been quitting and getting fired so we are extremely short staffed and so I've been working 4 days every week = 100+hours every 2 weeks. As a private company vs a State DOC, employees are much easier to fire, but just as tedious to hire so have patience if you have an interview or have received a call from Wexford. And if you have not heard from them in a timely manner, CALL, CALL, and CALL again - really. They (HR) are swamped right now so call and be the sqeaky wheel. As for how I like Wexford, I'm not impressed with their level of communication and organization. They seem to be very haphazard and have even more layers of paperwork than the DOC. If you'd like to chat and ask more in depth questions, PM me with your e-mail and we can chat in private. In the end, I really enjoy workng at the prison and could not imagine working in a hospital where I have doctors running around 24/7 giving orders. Where I am, if I have a question, I will call you otherwise, the doctors just stay out of our way or are not even on the premises. And yes they do hire new grads. IMO - as I was hired as a NG, if you do have what it takes to work in a prison, you will do great, if you need a lot of hand holding, you should work in a hospital.

I work in the largest State prison in our state (by population) - approx 5300 inmates at any given time. On weekends, it is just me and one other nurse until the pill pass nurses get to work around 11 am. So with no other nurses and no doctors, I tend to phone triage a LOT! With that said, if I had a call for both of the CP and bleeding inmates, before I had them in front of me, I would have a lot more information. For example, does the CP inmate have a cardiac history? How long has he been having CPs? How old is he? Does he have a hx of anxiety? GERD? Etc. The inmate that is C/O bleeding - where's he complaining that he's bleeding from? Rectal? Urinary?

I suppose corrections is as far from OB or NICU as possible. The part of corrections you hate is what I happen to love about corrections. What you see as a hindrance (aside from the boss and pay), I see as a positive that most nurses or people in general don't seem to understand. I've been in NICU (personally), but now that I'm a corrections nurse, I just can't see myself going into any other field besides ER. I completely understand, and I wish you the best of luck.

What don't you like about CN?

This is very true, but I also find that where most COs are willing and able to jump in and help and protect you, a lot are also lawsuit phobic and will let an inmate get away with quite a lot. Just last night I had an inmate demand that I give him something for his dental pain that I could see no S&S of. I warned him once to lower and watch his tone of voice. When he did not, I sent home with nothing. Then he asked for my name and threatened to tell everyone about me. I almost asked him if he thought I was a Chinese restaurant that he could spread bad stories about. lol In the end though, medical and security will have to work together and they will always "work" together.

40 miles, 45 minutes. I also walk around 1/2 mile from my car to my "office" even when I have golf carts available to and from. I find it's a great way to wake up from the commute and decompress from the workday.

I've had a couple of threats, but nothing I would take as credible enough to warrant anything more than issuing a "ticket" to the inmate. We did have an inmate say in front of a CO that he was going to have nurse beaten up and shot. They transferred him to a maximum custody facility. That inmate was a complete idiot as he was housed in a lowest level PC yard. I would talk with your supervisor as well as a shift commander (security) and ask them for advise on how you should handle this type of situation. For example, I did not realize that should an inmate threaten me, I could declare an "ICS" and have that inmate on lockdown for 72 hours while security investigate the incident.

We finally got the "offer /new employee packet" from Wexford. I am not impressed and neither is a lot of others. Currently, we have State FT, State Pool and Agency nurses (both RNs and LPNs). Wexford has made it clear that they will be trying to minimize the number of Pool and Agency nurses. So, my expectations were that the cost of the benefit will be going up and the level of the benefits going down. The reality: The cost of the benefits doubled for me and my family, and they have not released the details of the benefits as of yet. Day #1 is July 1. My expectations were that the State FT and the Pool nurses would get a marked raise and a marked decrease in pay respectively and meet somewhere in the lower middle. The reality: Current State FT are getting a $1 raise and the Pool and getting a $11 decrease in pay. My net take home pay will actually increase, but the level of communication from Wexford has been pretty poor to non-existent. The Packet did not say anything about shift, weekend differential so I called and left a message on Monday, but no call back as of yet. Overall, 90% of employees are pretty upset and it shows in their work and I feel we will be losing many nurses prior to July 1. Privatization - Not impressed with them so far.

Remember YOUR safety is always #1. If you do not feel safe, don't be there, don't go there, and don't do it. PERIOD. My #1 rant regarding correctional nursing is that the COs seem so lax sometimes. For example, after hours, the protocol is that ALL inmates be in full restraints (belly chain, shackles, etc) when I see them in the ER. The CO in the bubble have let inmates just waltz in with COs not even having them in handcuffs. As of yesterday, that BS has stopped for me. I told the shift commander of our complex and he said he supports me 100% since that is the protocol. I have told the bubble CO if an inmate is NOT in full restraints, don't even bother me with it, send em right back home - UNLESS it is an emergency.

From what I can see and perceive, non-correctional people do think less of us. But, after being in a hospital setting (as a student only), I don't think I would ever work in a hospital if I can help it. I just have way too much fun and I get to see things even my friends in the ER never get to see.

This is not a safety issue, but an education issue. I work in a Level 4 state prison - ALL inmates are dangerous regardless of their IQs. In addition, intelligence does not dictate the level or capability of committing violence. But thanks for the suggestion.