AnnabelleLee

never been to pelican bay. have one friend who went up there as a traveler, after working happily in two other ca prisons. she had a miserable time. she relayed a story about an rn who was hired on as staff and they were horrible to him, too. so she knew it wasn't merely being an agency nurse that attracted disrespect and abuse. my understanding is that the community is small --- everybody and his brother works at the prison -- and an outsider is an outsider. my friend was there about two years ago and things might have changed. the insular/small town mentality can be overcome, if you have patience and stomach for it. everyone will tell you the area is utterly gorgeous.

now that i think about it, i did get shut in an exam room with an inmate once. he was very disgusted and said, "they shouldn't leave you in here with me!" then he said, "not that you're not safe. i won't hurt you." ah, correctional officers. . . .

space nurse: i didn't mean to suggest that you take the opinion of a celebrity more seriously than that of anybody else. i just get tired of nursing organizations espousing liberal causes and views. as for diabetic inmates, i used to get all worked up about deficiencies in their care. then i realized they don't take care of themselves on the street and are probably getting more medical attention in jail or prison than they would otherwise. of course, that does not excuse a facility from providing adequate and appropriate resources to inmates.

:chair: be that as it may -- warren beatty is not going to get any applause and/or political support from moi.

yes, that is a very scary story. it ought to remind all of us to be careful what we say within earshot of inmates and to be vigilant about removing identifying information from articles we bring in and to be conscientious about ye old staff directory. inmates are always saying suggestive things. i don't respond unless it is really needed and then i usually say, "do i respect you? to which the answer is always yes, because i do. usually i don't have to say anything more.

what kind of wussy cos do you have? not to mention your spineless administrator. where are you, for pete's sake? i don't want to make the mistake of applying there.

why don't you call a few correctional facilities and ask them what agencies they use? that ought to get you started. traveling in corrections is fairly limited.