A 33 year old male patient from a maximum security state prison was admitted to a community hospital with flank pain and hematuria. His INR was discovered to be 8.2 (therapeutic range 2-3). His medical history included deep vein thrombus resulting from Protein S deficiency. A medication error ... Read More about Correctional Nurse Professional Practice Update: The Sharp End and Blunt End of Clinical Error
The Correctional Nurse
THREE CLINICAL JUDGMENT ERRORS TO AVOID
Over time, as experience develops, clinical reasoning themes emerge that speed our decision-making for commonly reoccurring scenarios. We begin, for example, to develop rules of thumb and analogies resulting in common pattern recognition that originate from past successes. The formal term for this ... Read More about THREE CLINICAL JUDGMENT ERRORS TO AVOID
Unhealthy Patient Relationships: Five Danger Signs
Prison and jail medical units are over-represented by female staff, creating a number of challenges to avoiding unhealthy patient relationships. It is a common saying that incarcerated persons go to medical to ‘enjoy the view’, and in one prison system in which I worked, it was explicitly stated to ... Read More about Unhealthy Patient Relationships: Five Danger Signs
When Prison is an End-of-Life Sentence: Hospice in Corrections
Terminal illness is an increasing possibility as incarcerated persons age and remain in custody. This can be a time of great sorrow, loneliness, suspicion, pain, and suffering for incarcerated individuals. They may have great fear of dying alone, in pain and without support. Every correctional ... Read More about When Prison is an End-of-Life Sentence: Hospice in Corrections
Correctional Nurse Clinical Practice Update: Documentation IV
This post continues our series on Documentation for Correctional Nurses with a discussion of electronic health records. The Electronic Health Record Today, many systems are using an electronic health record (EHR). The benefits of an EHR include improved legibility, improved ... Read More about Correctional Nurse Clinical Practice Update: Documentation IV