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Prison medical director role? Good gig or hell?
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There was a thread on this in the EM forum on reddit recently. If you do a search for "correctional medicine" you'll get a bunch of threads over the years that may have the info you need. Here's the specific link from recently:
Here
The thing that turned me off was the comment about lawsuits. Apparently it's a hobby for the prisoners to generate lawsuits against docs that they don't like (not getting the meds or management that they want). They just represent themselves and it usually gets dropped but still....that sounds like a huge annoyance to me.
Here
The thing that turned me off was the comment about lawsuits. Apparently it's a hobby for the prisoners to generate lawsuits against docs that they don't like (not getting the meds or management that they want). They just represent themselves and it usually gets dropped but still....that sounds like a huge annoyance to me.
I heard it described as "the last job you'll ever have".
But is that in a good way or a bad way? Because it could be either...
Well, therein lies the rub:
The mind is it's own place
And, in itself
Can make a Heaven of Hell
A Hell of Heaven
I'm just saying what I was told. My guess is due to the myriad ever present lawsuits, virtually all of dubious merit.
My buddy is one for a county population of ~130,000. If you have any specific questions I can ask him.
Yeah I just want to know if he likes the job, what are actual hours you end up being there, is it chill, is it worth it, any regrets, etc. I have indeed heard about the lawsuit issue.
The salary is very high for the job I’m looking at. But really I don’t have any specifics beyond that. This is just a passing question. I’m not seriously considering this at this stage in life. Just had a colleague who was considering such a position but then turned it down.
When I was a medical student, my ex wife worked in a prison as a nurse. What she described of the doctors that worked the jail clinics made me want to stay as far away from that kind of job as I possibly could…docs who had only done an internship and not a residency and weren’t board certified, washed up docs who had lost licenses in other states, docs in the state PHP who were somehow still drinking, etc etc.
The job itself didn’t sound pleasant. Prisoners screaming at doctors, doctors and nurses screaming back at them. Docs having to evaluate patients who had been brutally beaten by other inmates to the point of brain damage. Lots of prisoners malingering, and some who had swallowed forks etc to get a trip to the local hospital. There was some real medicine, but also lots and lots of silly BS. There were occasional security breaches, and times where all the medical staff had to lock themselves in the clinic while the guards tried to corral the inmates. Sounded stressful and miserable as far as I could tell. I’m not sure what kind of person would actually enjoy that job.
The job itself didn’t sound pleasant. Prisoners screaming at doctors, doctors and nurses screaming back at them. Docs having to evaluate patients who had been brutally beaten by other inmates to the point of brain damage. Lots of prisoners malingering, and some who had swallowed forks etc to get a trip to the local hospital. There was some real medicine, but also lots and lots of silly BS. There were occasional security breaches, and times where all the medical staff had to lock themselves in the clinic while the guards tried to corral the inmates. Sounded stressful and miserable as far as I could tell. I’m not sure what kind of person would actually enjoy that job.
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I spent 26 years working in a State Correctional System (Part Time)...
This is a Depends Question. i.e. It Depends on....
----Is this a contractual job or a "State" Job?
----Is this a Prison, Jail, or something else. (How long are the inmates confined?)
----Are you a manager of the whole system, the manager of THAT prison only.
----Is the Director also the ONLY doctor?
----Are you in charge of ALL healthcare matters or just medical?
----Do you have an in-prison hospital?
----What does the litigation history look like?
----How many people do you oversee?
----What is the quality of the staff?
----Etc. Etc. Etc.
This is a Depends Question. i.e. It Depends on....
----Is this a contractual job or a "State" Job?
----Is this a Prison, Jail, or something else. (How long are the inmates confined?)
----Are you a manager of the whole system, the manager of THAT prison only.
----Is the Director also the ONLY doctor?
----Are you in charge of ALL healthcare matters or just medical?
----Do you have an in-prison hospital?
----What does the litigation history look like?
----How many people do you oversee?
----What is the quality of the staff?
----Etc. Etc. Etc.
Post the salary, this is the most important part.
Full time 200K, Better be a remote stay at home job
full time 300-400K, need specifics
full time 800K, sign me up and figure out stuff later.
Full time 200K, Better be a remote stay at home job
full time 300-400K, need specifics
full time 800K, sign me up and figure out stuff later.
There's quite a jump between $400k and $800k, but $400k is possible. I've never seen a correctional job at $200k, remote or otherwise. Chief Psychiatrist, Correctional and Rehab Services (Safety) - Central California Women's Facility
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I work with him Sunday. I’ll ask him and let you know.
Words to live by
I don’t know man. There seems to be a lot of movies out there where prisoners fake illnesses to gain access to the infirmary as a means to initiate an escape. What always happens to the doctor or nurse? A horrible death that involves something like a scalpel to the neck, a syringe full of poison in the jugular, or a bone saw to the forehead. It seems to me that you’d be better off wearing a red shirt on a Star Trek away team.
Seriously, most of us who left EM did so because we were sick of dealing with patients having an agenda. Well, way too many prisoners also have bad intentions. No way the state or uncle sugar is paying enough to offset the safety risk.
Movies. Not real life.
The prison that was nearest to my last job sent half their pts to us (halfway between us and another hospital). What I'd heard was the infirmary was respite.
You’re probably right. Most convicts would probably just dig through the wall at night rather than escape through the infirmary. That, or try to commandeer the plane / bus during transfer to another facility…
He said: they can sue but you’re covered by tort law so not a big deal, he’s not sure if he regrets it, he only goes in twice a week to sign charts for 30 min - 2 hours but he’s on call every day from 7a-10p. He said a lot of it is primary care, like he has to restart bp meds they haven’t taken for 6 months or start someone on synthroid or adjust their statin but also stuff like treating cellulitis or other urgent care style things. He also said you can get government benefits (at least at his job) which are good.
He finished it by asking if you were interested in his job. Take that as you will. 🤷🏼♂️
Worst thing that happened to me from a prisoner was them throwing a cup of their pee at me because they had nothing wrong with them
Then they faked chest pain like I was gonna keep them for another cardiac workup (several presentations that month)
