I recently spent a week with my Mom. When I visit we always pull out a jigsaw puzzle to set while we reminisce and chat about our extended family. As we moved through our usual ritual of sorting a pile of 500+ colorful oddly-shaped pieces of cardboard, I pondered how the many dilemmas of correctional nursing practice can seem like…
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The Three Golden Principles for Dealing with Inmates
I am trying to remember the first time I came across the advice to be firm, fair, and consistent with inmate patients. It may have been during my orientation for my first position in corrections. While the terms are used in correctional officer, manager, and education literature, I have not seen these golden principles in the nursing literature on patient…
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Complacency: The Lurking Enemy
The day shift nurse leaves the medication room door unlocked so she can get to the staff break room or the nurse’s station quickly. The evening shift nurse pre-pours all her medications for segregation rounds, even narcotics, although she takes the medication cart with her. The sick call nurse moved the patient’s chair to the side of his desk next…
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