Correctional Nurse . Net

Inspiring compassionate professional nursing in the criminal justice system

Caring for Women in Prison: Reproductive Health

By

Twenty-five-year-old Joanie found out she was pregnant during routine screening on intake to the city jail. She had been picked up during a street sweep over the New Year’s holiday. A series of poor decisions and an addiction to cocaine that she couldn’t shake had landed her on the street, sleeping rough, and getting by […]

Silence Kills: Communicating for Patient Safety

By

What do you do if you see a fellow nurse not washing her hands after a dressing change or not checking the MAR (Medication Administration Record) before administering routine medication to a patient? Speaking up about breaches in safety rules or other concerning issues can be a struggle of conscience. Staff nurses like to avoid conflict. […]

Reducing Hospital Readmissions Among Incarcerated Patients (Podcast Episode 149)

By

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | Download Clarence Cryer, Jr, MPH, CCHP-A, Chief Executive Officer for the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran, CA, talks with Lorry about reducing hospital readmission rates. He published the article Reducing Hospital Readmissions Among Incarcerated Patients in the January 2018 issue of the Journal of Correctional […]

Correctional Nursing and the Ethic of Social Justice

By

Have you ever been asked what you do as a nurse and found yourself launching into a discussion of sick call and medication passes? It is easy to get lost in the weeds on our professional journey. That’s why it can be refreshing to periodically return to the defining qualities of the nursing profession to […]

Improve Dementia Care by Communicating with R-E-S-P-E-C-T

By

This guest post is written by Jaime Todd, MBA, LNHA. His bio is found at the end. An elderly inmate was brought into the medical unit of a medium security prison to be checked for injury after an altercation in one of the housing units. He looked older than his 62 years and seemed disoriented. […]

Older Women in Prison: Menopause and Osteoporosis Concerns

By

Hazel is a diminutive 56-year-old state prisoner serving a life sentence for murder. She has been incarcerated for 18 years now and recently fell on the icy path while heading from her housing unit to breakfast early one morning. She sustained Colles fractures of both wrists. While being treated for the fractures she was also […]

Does Your Patient REALLY Understand? Using the Teach-Back Method

By

Inmate Odem showed up at the med line with his KOP medication card totally empty. The medication nurse was frustrated that he had not come last week so that an order could be placed before he was out of medication. She reminded him of the written instructions reviewed with him when he was started on […]

Unexplained Unconsciousness: Watch Out for Drug Overdose!

By

Jace had a difficult time withdrawing from heroin when he entered the jail 10 days ago on a burglary charge. He was stealing to meet the demands of his 5-bag a day heroin habit. A man-down emergency was just called for his housing unit where Jace was found unconscious and barely breathing. He may have […]

Factors that Promote and Hinder Medication Adherence in a Correctional Setting (Podcast 147)

By

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | Download In this podcast episode, Lorry talks with Keith Courtney, DO, CCHP, Alberta Health Services Facilities – Medical Director for Correctional Health Services, in Alberta, Canada. He and his colleagues (Dr. Lauren Cuthbertson, Dr. Karolina Koalewski, and Dr. Jennifer Edge)have published the article Factors that Promote and Hinder Medication Adherence […]

Send this to a friend