MadisonsMomRN

Omgosh... this is absolutely WONDERFUL!!!!

Mine shut off at 95! I was stressed out! But I passed!!

I do like corrections. I get burned out and do look around and have interviewed at other places... but all in all, I like it. At least I know that if I am there someone will care about the inmates... lol. :) You cant please them all but that's anywhere. I feel like some of the nurses I work with are mean to some of the inmates. If the nurse "likes" them, they are nice. Ugh... I could go on and on. Its nice to hear how others got into corrections. You either love it or hate it!

Our mental health dept (psychiatrist) prescribes mental health meds. Our doctor does not prescribe any mental health meds. We are strict on what we give out due to all the drug seeking out there!

Me too! I am always teaching...

You are SO right. They do play victim!

Our docs orders meds as well. We stock Vicoden, T3 and Ultram. The guards definitely do not have any say in what meds the inmate gets. These meds are given on a case by case basis and the inmate must be housed in our infirmary to get them. For example, we have a female that has breast CA and other health problems. She has had surgery and she does get T3 (she was on Vicoden but it didn't work well for her) The only exception is Ultram. On RARE occasions an inmate will get that and not have to be in our medical dept. If an inmate comes in and has been on drugs or is an alcoholic we will monitor them and treat them accordingly. ETOH withdrawals will be housed in our medical dept and put on titrating Librium and possibly Clonidine. Benzo withdrawals will be treated with Phenobarb... so we do treat the inmates with certain drugs. Ugh... Sorry! I am rambling!! :) I definitely do NOT think a correctional officer has the authority to determine meds. They do not have the training to do so. Safety and security are first but doesn't give them the right to override the medical doctor.

I guess this IS true BUT... whether we go to a community college or a big university we all take the same boards (at least in my state we do) I do realize that you do get more education at the university however. (I mean higher degree)

That is similar to me... I wanted much more as far as education but stopped due to being burned out. I stumbled into it because it was good money... then I grew to really like it!

I am one that prefers to work as a team BUT some of my coworkers do otherwise. It seems like they just want to claw your eyes out when you think differently than they do. It is like some of the other nurses just want to eat you up. I am pretty sure it is like this many other places as well. However, there are nurses that do work as a team and those are the ones that I love to work with of course!

I don't feel sorry for them. I do feel sorry for the babies though. I see repeat offenders and some of them come in strung out on drugs and going through withdrawals. I am just sad for those innocent babies!

I am not really sure. I have worked in a prison and a jail... the jail doesn't hire new grads. You need some med surg experience to get a job there. Its not easy... trauma can happen at any time.

I am just curious as to what type of nurse you planned on being while in school. I know that I never even considered correctional nursing. I wanted to be a psych nurse... I really love psych nursing and get a good taste of it in corrections. I have been a RN since 2003 and have been in corrections for 2 years. I have worked in a state prison that houses 3500 male inmates and in a county detention center that houses up to 700 inmates. I am currently full time at the county. Truthfully, I have looked for other jobs to try seek "something better" but I really do enjoy corrections. I like being in the jail better than the prison. Its higher turnover with people coming in and out. (short term) We get a little bit of everything too!! Gotta be on your toes! I have many people tell me that I should be an instructor... maybe someday! lol So... what was your passion while in school?

Our jail is the size of yours. I am jealous over you having 1 to 2 booking nurses! We have between 600-700 inmates and we have a small "medical" area... Monday we have 2 nurses on 7-3. 2 nurses on 3-11 and 1 nurse on 11-7a - No doctor or PA clinic during the day, just nurse sick call. Tuesday we have 3 nurses 7-3. We have a PA clinic in the afternoon that starts at 1pm. Same staffing for other shifts. Wednesday we have 3 nurses 7-3 and a PA clinic all day. Thursday we have 3 nurses 7-3 and Doctor at 1pm Friday we 3 nurses with PA clinic 8a to 12p. We do nurse sick call everyday. We have a treatment book that we check to see if there are any BP checks or dressing changes... etc. Somedays its SO heavy. We usually do not get to booking during the day because they are out to court until 1p - 2p. It usually falls on 3-11 shift. They hate it and I would too... what do you do? THEN you have your "all availables" and emergencies. It can be very busy and I tend to feel burned out a lot lately. Again... I WISH we had booking nurses. That would be so awesome!

I live in Maryland and correctional nurses do get paid more than hospital nurses in my area. I would in a county detention center and I get paid more than the state correctional facility in our area. FYI - I get paid $33 an hour.