Nurses on the move: the Schoenly truck

Nurses work in all kinds of environments. Whether it’s in an emergency department, university, military, consulting firm, or perhaps a prison, the role of a nurse goes far beyond the everyday hospital environment.

July’s Nurse on the Move, Dr. Lorry Schoenly, RN, CCHP-RN, is a health care risk consultant in prisons and jails. He also currently teaches at Chamberlain College of Nursing and writes, amongst others: monthly column on correctional care issues, together with podcasts.

Schoenly’s previous roles include director of education for the National Orthopedic Nurses Association and assistant vice chairman of Rancocas Hospital. She began her skilled profession as a staff nurse. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Excelsior College and a master’s degree in burns, emergencies and trauma, and a doctorate in nursing from Widener University.

Through our interview, I learned why Schoenly went into correctional nursing and what day by day reminders she has for nurses.

Growing up, I never imagined I can be a nurse. I come from a family of educators. While within the intensive care unit after our son’s difficult birth, I looked around on the nurses running around and thought, “These people are doing meaningful work.” I used to be addicted.

I feel I actually have all the time been an educator at heart. As a nurse… I used to be like a sponge, absorbing information from any skilled development or continuing education course I could find. I used to be delighted that I applied and was accepted [to a staff development position]…where I could proceed to take care of patients while managing the onboarding of latest staff and establishing services for brand spanking new treatments and equipment. For me it was the proper combination.

You can almost never go flawed with education. One of some great benefits of nursing is the big selection of opportunities. If you are not satisfied together with your current position, explore other options and determine what’s needed in an entry-level position. Enjoy this journey and check out to use every thing you learn at school to your current skilled experiences.

Like many individuals in our specialty, I’m an accidental prison nurse. I do not know anyone who announced as a baby that they desired to be a jail nurse once they grew up. It actually never occurred to me that nurses worked in prisons and prisons until I responded to an ad for a nursing educator position within the New Jersey state prison system. However, after I saw the large need for nursing care and nursing care behind bars, I saw a possibility to make use of my skills and skills each locally and nationally. Correctional nurses take care of a vulnerable, marginalized and really needy patient population. Moreover, working in such an environment on daily basis requires enthusiasm and determination. I see firsthand the struggles of correctional nurses in a low-resource, ethical criminal justice system. I do what I can to support their efforts.

The biggest challenge I face in helping to enhance patient care is organizational culture. Pervasive attitudes amongst team members are difficult to eradicate. We want quick solutions, whether it’s dropping pounds, getting dinner on the table, or improving a relationship. It is comparable in health care. Leaders want to jot down policy, provide worker support, after which move on to the subsequent thing on the list. It doesn’t work that way in organizations, regardless that we would love it to!

The encouragement I take advantage of at the tip of every of my Podcasts about prison nursing today is: “Make today count for good.” As nurses, we all the time have the chance to make a difference in someone’s life, and I attempt to remind myself of that regularly. The quote on the board in my office that encourages me is from Goethe: “Knowledge just isn’t enough. we have now to report. Wanting just isn’t enough; We must do.” As an educator, I attempt to continually encourage others to use what they learn, otherwise it’s all for naught.

The way forward for nursing is brilliant as we move forward. Nurses have many opportunities to make a difference, no matter their position or location. Correctional nursing particularly is growing in popularity as a specialty, and I’m thrilled to be a component of it!