National Corrections #NursesAppreciationWeek Spotlight:

Behind the scenes of medical services at the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS), you will find a busy medical office with doctors, nurses and other medical staff all working to treat patients needing care. During Nurse Appreciation Week, Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Trish Davis talks about what it means to work in the field of corrections. She remembers when she first began her career at the Omaha Correctional Center (OCC) more than five years ago, she couldn’t believe how much goes on within the prison system. “I do many different things every day at OCC. I schedule all outside appointments for our inmates, handle phone calls from the units, take doctor’s orders, see patients, communicate with our incarcerated population, trouble-shoot issues or problems that occur during the day and supervise four inmate porters.”

One thing Davis is proud of is how they’ve started a restorative program with their certified nursing assistant (CNA) porters to assist with regaining independence after a medical setback. They are also focused on preventing transmission of #NECOVID19. Davis noted this pandemic gives them the opportunity to grow in #knowledge and #preparedness in ways they have not experienced before.

Davis said she found out that she loves this job at corrections soon after she started. She shows #leadership through setting goals to have good days, every day. “I make it a priority to do what I say I am going to do so my teammates and the inmates know they can depend on me. I try to make sure the medical department is communicating with other departments and we are working together to accomplish great care of our incarcerated population.”