CORRECTIONComplete ONE reflective clinical journal entry for each clinical day and put in the designated drop box. Your journal article MUST be attached to your assignment. Not submitting your artic

Clinical Journal

FIRST CLINICAL WEEK AT THE JAIL

Identify the clinical experience and describe the events noting four areas of Community Health Nursing:

Intake, Chronic Care, Medication Administration, and Episodic Care/Sick Call.

The atmosphere in the adult detention center is terrifying. The inmates who came from a healthy life are not leaving a normal life and are going behind walls. The jail detains persons that are not yet tried for the offenses committed or serving out a sentence of fewer than 2 years (Correctional Nursing 2019).

The nursing care in jail is totally different from the nursing care in the hospital setting. Nursing care in prison depends on the amount of time a nurse has with the patients and the circumstances surrounding the care. Nurses in jail are the first health care professional to see an inmate about any medical condition. A thorough assessment is done by the nurses to ascertain care requirements. The nurses can either deliver nursing care directly to the patient or plan for the patient to see the physician or nurse practitioner (Correctional Nursing 2019). The jail has a population that has been taken from their typical living environment. There is a high potential for drug and alcohol abuse leading to a high rate of drug and alcohol withdrawal. An infectious disease is another concern with the inmates, and priority is given to critical and arising conditions.

Nursing intake: The clients in jail are mostly young men and women who have made the wrong choices. The inmates entering the prison are typically screened for a variety of reasons. These include cases with immediate medical attention, mental health issues like drug and alcohol withdrawal, infectious diseases, chronic medications, trauma and, suicide ideations. The nurses in jail determine which inmates must be seen first according to the urgency of their medical conditions. Nurses have excellent communication skills with the inmates. Nurses communicate with clients at their level. They make inmates feel like rational human beings who have made wrong choices in life. The inmates have lots of questions at the back of their minds. They always look for ways of striking a conversation with the nurses. Two young men narrated their ordeal of getting involved in drugs with the help of their ex-girlfriends. After staying in jail for almost seven months, they were ready, willing, and eager to go back to school and achieve their dreams. The nurse encouraged them not to give up on their dreams. She told them that it is not too let to turn around.

Chronic care: Chronic care is a priority in jail. Chronic conditions such as hypertension, asthma, diabetes, arthritis is given the highest priority. The nurses schedule day to day appointments in the medical unit to manage such conditions. Inmates are all screened for infectious disease and pregnancy management. Even though the care for inmates involves doctors, physician assistants, and, nurse practitioners, nurses provide patient education about chronic care management and, medication compliance. Nurses take time to know their patients to ensure maximum security and safety to the inmates. The inmates with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes are encouraged to check their blood sugar levels regularly to avoid secondary complications. Most inmates are not aware of their chronic conditions until they are screened. Some of the inmates who are aware of the chronic diseases are not medically compliant. There were a couple of diabetic inmates who did not want to check their blood sugars, saying that it was a waste of time. The inmates with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes are encouraged to check their blood sugars regularly. Those with hypertension are also encouraged to have their blood pressure checked to maintain a healthy lifestyle even after their release from jail.

Medication administration: All medications in the jail must be administered through medication pass. Individuals in prison have the right to receive medical care. Inmates requiring medication are assigned a time to report to the nurses for administration. Administering medication is centralized in the medical unit. Some of the drug, like insulin, is administered to the clients in the presence of a jail police guard. This is done for safety purposes. It is exciting to watch inmates being given insulin via a tiny window. Administering medication to inmates is indeed a challenge to the nurses. Some of the inmates are on a suicidal watch. Taking care of the inmate who has no hope puts the lives of the nurses in harm's way.

Nursing sick call: Nurses in prison provide random health care services to the prisoners through a demand system referred to as Sick Call. The prisoners are asking for treatment in writing before being seen by the nurse. If the medical condition being addressed is a severe condition, a follow-up appointment with the Doctor or nurse practitioner is organized.

Clinical Experiences: There were some problems concerning individual believes is best for the nurse, what custody believes is best, and what the prisoners believes is best. Some inmates are noncompliant, and they have a right, others are very abusive, and there are no disciplinary measures in place. Today's experience has given me the knowledge base of being a correctional nurse. A collection nurse has a lot of challenges. Todays' experienced has expanded my knowledge about taking care of clients behind the wall. Taking care of inmates comes with a lot of problems.

References

“Correctional Nursing.” Correctional Nursing - International Association of Forensic Nurses, www.forensicnurses.org/page/CorrectionalNursing.

MACMADU, A., & RICH, J. D. (2015). Correctional Health Is Community Health. Issues in Science & Technology, 32(1), 64–70. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.rasmussen.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=keh&AN=110096499&site=eds-live