djules

Happy Holiday Lisa, I ran into the same situation as you when I first starting working in the jail. I refused to see any inmates without an officer present. I went to the Lt and expressed my concerns and just flat out said "Nope, not gonna happen. No officer=no sick call" They were able to find the time to provide an officer. Understand that it is written in the standards not to mention other memos that corrections can not deter inmates from seeing medical. As far as the med cart goes I would inform the block officer and the inmates on the block that I will have one inmate approach at a time for meds or we will all just stand there and wait until distance is provided. Maybe Im wrong but Corrections has their job and I have mine. I dont tell them how to do their job and they dont dictate how I do mine. I do know that the officers are responsible for the safety and security of the facility and those in it, (i know this because they tell me this), so I hold them to it. It has worked out well for us and I believe we have a good relationship. Good luck to you.

My facility is small (100 inmates) and I am the only medical staff. I have come across this situation a couple times and am at a loss. I have an inmate who is banging their head on the wall. Situation #1 Imate is having a mental breakdown (mania, schizo,...). The local hospital will not admit MH inmates with charges pending. Crisis center has a wait list for a bed. Medications are not working. Situation #2 Inmate is upset about being incarcerated and wants to go to the hospital. Pure manipultion. We do not a a restraint chair. We do not have 24 hour medical coverage. Usually with Situation #2 I explain that they will not be transfered to the hospital. I keep an eye on them but out of their line of site. Usually this tactic works and after awhile they get to tired, to sore, or to bored to continue. Situation #1 is much more frustrating. Sometimes you just cannot reason with them. Aside from a officer blocking the inmate from continued harm there has not been much I can think of to protect the inmate. I cant change the facility. I cant hire more medical. I cant get the hospital to cooperate. Anyone out there who has found themselves in the same situation and found a tactic that has worked (at least sometime) I would love to hear your suggestions. Thanks.

Two things make me twitch, "Fer" instead of "For", and "Have a good one" instead of " Have a nice day/evening".

Thank you for the back up Calico. It would be nice to have 24 hour medical coverage for my facility, or at the least medical personnel there during med times but that just isnt the case. We do the best that we can with what is available. Accountability, key control, signatures, initials, pill counts,....it's a daily event to insure inmate safety. p.s. Sounds like we work in the same facility and just dont know it.

I have ordered the book "Mind games criminals play" from Amazon. It has gotten great reviews and I am told it is required reading in some facilities. My impression is that it is directed to the correctional side of the house but I feel it will be useful for me also. I will let you know how it is. Another tip: Instead of asking "Do you drink alcohol?", ask "How often do you drink alcohol?". Instead of "Do you use street drugs?", say "Tell me about your drug use." I have found it cuts out the initial denial a lot of the time. It's a more direct way to obtain information and comes off as assertive. Oh, and ask about marijuana use seperately because we all know marijuana isnt a drug (lol). One more thing. If possible, do not tolerate an uncooperative inmate. If they don't want to answers questions, if they want to debate procedures, if they are soooo tired they can't sit up. I say, " It appears to me that you are not up to this at this time. You are finished and may return to your cell. We can try this again on another day when you are feeling up to it." I then have them returned to their cell. Discussion over. I have found that they are much more cooperative the next time around.

I also work in a small cty jail. When I first started here the sergeant was dispensing medications QID. Since I am only here 8 hours a day m-f. I have found that prepouring is the answer. It is to bad your company prevents you from doing this. Are you the medical staff for the facility? If so, how about changeing your hours to cover the bid schedule. The facility would still need a perdeim nurse for the days your not there. This is a big challange that most small facilities face. Many COs become pseudo nurses which is unfair to them and alas even unfair to our inmates.

"open laceration"