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Ector County jail in need of nursesDec 16, 2012 (Odessa American - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Robin McCullough didn't always want to be a nurse. In fact, she originally wanted to go into law enforcement and be a police officer. However her father, a sheriff's deputy, advised against it. So instead, McCullough followed in her mother's footsteps and became a registered nurse, eventually graduating from Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock back when it was still called Methodist. Since earning her degree, McCullough said she has worked in different hospitals before going to work for the Ector County Detention Center about 13 years ago. Since then, she's worked her way up to director of nurses, the top position in her department. It's a move she said she doesn't regret. "It's not the routine and the same thing every day," McCullough said about why she has continued to work at the jail. "You never know what's going to walk in through the door." Despite being surrounded by numerous armed law enforcement officers and providing medical treatment to inmates, McCullough says there's not much difference between working in the jail and in a hospital. Nurses at the jail work among three different shifts -- 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.; 3 p.m. until midnight; and midnight until 9 a.m. -- and provide care such as first aid and can administer intravenous therapy. McCullough also said one of the added benefits of working in the jail is that the nurses don't provide sponge bathes or have to turn over bedridden inmates. Twice a week, a doctor comes in to check on inmates who have filled out a sick call form during a two hour period. Emergencies such as seizures and heart attacks are transferred to a local hospital. But with a budget that can staff up to eight fulltime licensed practical nurses and three certified medical assistances, Ector County Sheriff Mark Donaldson said the nursing staff is short on staff, needing at least three additional nurses to be full. In fact, Donaldson was given permission by the Ector County Commissioners Court last week to hire a new charge nurse -- a registered nurse who would essentially be the nursing staff's second-in-command. Fully staffed earlier this year, Donaldson has asked commissioners on different occasions throughout the year to approve overtime to some of his nursing staff. The latest request was Nov. 13. "It seems like we're always one short," Donaldson said, adding the last time the nursing staff was full was sometime earlier this year. When short on help, both Donaldson and McCullough said the county can request help from residents from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, but there are some reasons the sheriff prefers paying overtime. "Obviously they're dealing with inmates," Donaldson said. "Security is something they have to think about." McCullough also said one of the main differences between working with inmates as opposed to patients in the hospital is that sometimes you have to "trust your instincts" when talking to a patient. She said when they can; the staff prefers to work overtime than have someone new come in. "It's easier to know they're working overtime than have someone from an agency come in," McCullough said. The nursing shortage isn't set exclusively to the jail. Medical Center Hospital website reports there are at least 70 open registered nurses position. MCH Human Resources Director Robbi Banks said the shortage comes not just from workers leaving to work in the oilfiled, but also because of the shortage in housing in the area. However, nursing classes at Odessa College, Midland College, the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, and Texas Tech University Health Science Center are always full, Banks said. "I think the main thing is, nurses are in short demand throughout the nation and not just our area," Banks said. "That's one thing that that makes it difficult ... is that they have a lot opportunities." The Texas Workforce Commission states that in October, the education and health services industry grew more than any other industry in October, adding 13,700 jobs statewide. But while MCH and other hospitals continue to look for new staff, McCullough said most people don't take working as a nurse for the jail seriously as a career opportunity. "There's a stigma that people who work as nurses in the jail can't get other jobs," McCullough said. "That's not true. There are lots of knowledge people here who have worked in other locations." --Contact Nathaniel Miller on twitter at @OAgovernment, on Facebook at OA Nathaniel Miller or call 432-333-7769 ___ (c)2012 the Odessa American (Odessa, Texas) Visit the Odessa American (Odessa, Texas) at www.oaoa.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |