As a correctional nurse, I don’t get it.

I’ve been a nurse for 17 years, and in corrections for 2.5. Mostly males, and mostly felony offenders. I’ve read a lot of case files, and I feel like about 70-80% of offenders are in for drug or alcohol related offenses. <br><br>As a nurse, I’ve always felt like my job is to make my patients feel better. Obviously this doesn’t always happen, and sometimes it’s my job to just help make patients more comfortable while they’re dying.<br><br>But in corrections, I have to give out all kinds of medications to help inmates not be addicts, and it does nothing. If I give Benzos, they want more. If I give opioids, they want more. If I give them sobering up meds, like Baclofen, they want more. No matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to make anyone feel better without also making the situation worse.<br><br>I feel like I’m fighting a losing battle, and I’m just lost.