lvnprntlc

reading about a lot of other correctional facilities on here...i am realizing that we do have a lot of staff! we have acute (16 beds) and sub-acute (60 beds) at are facility. not sure if that is why our staffing is higher? sometimes there are so many nurses that they work the registry nurses 4 hours and then send them home. we run nurse-sick-call 5 days a week. we don't have any pas working for us, but we do have 3 nps. we also have an ob/gyn doc that comes in weekly and an ortho doc. oh...can't forget the eye doc too! very few of our inmates actually go out to the area local hospital. we try to do as much as possible inside the facility. we have a lot of level 4 inmates, and it is just too darn dangerous to take them to the hospital. of course, in life threatening situations, we do send them out. thanks for sharing! :)

We have 1500 inmates with approx. 14-15 nurses on the night shift. 4 nurses for 1000 inmates sounds like a bad ratio to me...but I guess it must be the facility that I work in.

The benefits are usually good. The RN's at our facility get 15% hazard duty pay on top of their gross income. We also get a uniform allowance. The downside is the type of patients that you have. There is always danger in the work area. Sometimes the facility is on lock down and no one can move about. That makes it hard to do the job sometimes. It really is an interesting profession. I work in a county jail that houses 1500 inmates. We have approx. 15 doctors on staff, 60 RN's, 50 LVN's, 20 MA's, 2 dentists, X-ray techs, dialysis nurses, psych techs... Whenever staffing gets low...we use registery nurses to fill in. I actually started working for a registery first to see how I would like it. I have now been a full-time employee for over 6 years. There are benifits and downfalls...but I think that you find that in any job... Hope this helped some!

sacramento county jail here :)

after 6 years...i've seen a lot. one of the strangest ones was a pencil inserted up the member. the inmate had some weird sexual practices to say the least!

hi! i have worked in correctional nursing for over 6 years now. i have also worked ltc in the past. the facility i work in has an acute and sub-acute unit. we also care for 1500 incarcerated individuals. i enjoy the work, but there are things that happen there more frequently than in a "regular" hospital setting. most of the inmates that i care for are respectful. there are some who are not. having a non-confrontational approach is a good idea. if i am having problems with an inmate...i will try to calm them down and then if they still are being disruptive i will ask them to lock down until they have calmed down and i will talk to them later. you will find that you treat a lot of disorders that you would in a "regular" facility. diabetes, htn, thyroid problems, depression, etc. some facilities allow the inmates to have their medication on their person (our facility does not). i really like working corrections, but i also understand that it is not for everyone. remember that most of these people will try to con you every single day. keep things to a strict professional level. don't allow them into your private life at all. watch what you say at all times. some of them are looking for information...others are looking to file a lawsuit. in ltc nursing, i found that you could hold a patients hand, touch their arm, etc. in corrections...this is just not the way to go. any "extra" touch can be misconstrued as a sexual advance. i am not sure what other information you are looking for. sometimes the pay is good...at other facilities it isn't. benefits are usually good. ask if there is mandatory overtime. ask what protection protocals are in place for the medical staff. if you have anything else you can either e-mail me privately or just post again on here. good luck in your new career! always, lvnprntlc