18 days and counting

As they say in prison, I'm going to "kill my number," which means serve my time until my maximum release date, May 19th. (Well, this is a self selected release date.) I will be starting a new job closer to Denver at a community health center where I can enjoy such benefits as sleeping in my own bed! And not getting up at 4:30 on Monday morning! My cell phone can even come to work with me. (Maybe I should go wild and get a smart phone...the flip phone was a big upgrade for me 4 yrs ago...)

I feel a bit ambivalent about leaving the prisoners without a doctor, but it's time to say adios to La Quinta and work closer to home. A primary care nurse practitioner is also departing the prison for a new job, leaving only the affable nurse practitioner gynecology specialist to deal with the medical needs of the ladies. Hopefully they can recruit (and retain) a provider soon. This was always a temporary position for me, which I let the inmates know, but I still always feel guilty leaving patients. With our residency transitions, I already have "broken up" with patients 3 times in my short career so far.

The demands of the inmates and this job are wearing on me. On my way out last week, two ladies brazenly stopped me in the yard with various demands. One stuck her tongue out and wanted a diagnosis for the coating on her tongue. The other woman irritably asked why she hadn't been scheduled for an appointment yet. Many of the prisoners lack boundaries, and I was not too happy about being asked to perform a tongue exam in the middle of the prison yard. (Although I could also imagine this happening on the outside in a grocery store or the gym...) Today I hopped aboard the "ambulance" golf cart and caught a ride out of prison, skillfully avoiding probing questions. Just 18 more walks out of the prison, and 4 more early morning commutes!