What can I learn here?

Too bad you're not around for sick calls, that is where your assessment skills are used. I just started working at a women's prison a few weeks ago. There is a lot of paper work on night shift, we usually have a sick call or two, also (chest pain/seizures, etc). I think I'm going to like it.

Hi everyone. I'm doing my community health clinical in a med-security women's prison w/ 1 doc, 3 RNs, and a 3 bed infirmary. Sick call is done after we leave for the day, so only urgent matters come up during my time there. The problem I'm having is that nothing ever happens! The facility is preparing for accreditation, so I've spent 99% of my time helping to update charts. Total nursing care performed: 3 BPs and 3 "so what brings you up today?" The nurses are lovely people, it's just that it's so very boring. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can learn something from this experience? I mean, other than that nursing involves a lot of paperwork? 'Cause I definitely have that lesson down!

Thanks in advance.

Do your clinical during the scheduled sick calls or nurse sick calls. You will see more there. It is one of those jobs where you can sit for days and then in one day be swamped for a week. Ask to read the medical requests and review the nurses response. Go ahead and read the charts and review the assessments from book-in and up to date. It should tell a story about the inmate. You could also ask to view monthly and year end statistics for an idea as to what the nurses deal with.

The time when a facility is preparing for accreditation is the worst time for clinicals! The only thing that happens in the months leading up to an audit is paperwork, making copies of this or that 10 thousand times. Believe me, it is not always like that. It is more laid back than the hospital (in most scenarios) but it is fun. You never know what to expect from the inmates or the guards or the other nurses for that matter! Hope you don't give up on it just yet!

Well, it's over. Thank you for all your kind suggestions. I did get a little more pt contact the last couple of weeks. I learned that I sooooo do not have the temperament for corrections - I'm way too gullible, and then I get really pissed at myself and the pt. The only really bad thing that happened was I think I didn't advocate strongly enough in a sticky situation. I was reviewing a woman's chart and came across a couple things that made me suspect she may have been assaulted by a CO - came in complaining of groin pain, then two months later tested positive for syphilis - when she had tested neg on admission over a year before. The test was not repeated. I told the NM, and she strongly implied that I should leave it alone, and she'd make sure the RPR was repeated. I just feel like I should have done more. Well, on to my sick babies....at least with them I can rely on lab values, monitor data, and my own eyes, not "my pain is 12/10!!!!!"