Paula Butenas
Litchfield,MN
Summary
Registered Nurse with extensive experience in the correctional setting. Proven ability to conduct thorough patient assessments and manage chronic conditions, ensuring optimal care. Strong clinical judgment and effective communication skills enhance collaborative efforts in multidisciplinary teams, driving improved patient outcomes.
Overview
1
1
Certification
13
13
years of professional experience
Work History
Registered Nurse
Advanced Correctional Healthcare Inc.
02.2023 - Current
- Intake & Screening: Performing health assessments on newly detained individuals to identify potential medical or mental health issues.
- Medication Management: Administering daily medications and preparing medication carts.
- Emergency & Acute Care: Responding to medical emergencies such as injuries from altercations, overdoses, or withdrawal symptoms.
- Chronic Care: Managing long-term conditions like diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and HIV.
- Specimen Collection: Obtaining blood, urine, and other specimens for diagnostic testing.
- Mental Health Support: Monitoring mental health concerns, including suicide risk assessments.
Registered Nurse
Mend Correctional Care
10.2017 - 02.2023
- Intake Health Screenings: Reviewing health questionnaires and performing physical and mental health assessments for newly incarcerated individuals to identify urgent medical needs or potential risks.
- Medication Administration: Preparing and coordinating the daily distribution of medications to ensure inmate compliance, often using "pill passes".
- Sick Call and Triage: Performing physical examinations and assessments based on inmate medical request slips (sick calls) and initiating treatment according to established protocols.
- Emergency Care: rendering immediate first aid and emergency response for incidents like overdoses, self-harm, or trauma.
- Chronic Disease Management: Caring for patients with long-term conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and HIV.
- Infectious Disease Control: Screening of communicable diseases (e.g., tuberculosis, hepatitis), implementing isolation procedures, and educating staff and inmates on preventing infection spread.
- Collaborative Care: Assisting physicians, dentists, and mental health providers during treatments and arranging for off-site appointments when specialized care is required.
- Documentation and Record Keeping: Maintaining detailed medical records, logging medication reactions, and preparing reports for court proceedings or facility statistics.
Registered Nurse
Bethesda Health Care Facility
04.2013 - 12.2017
- Administered medications and treatments in accordance with facility protocols.
- Monitored patient vital signs and reported changes to healthcare team.
- Collaborated with multidisciplinary teams to develop individualized care plans.
- Educated patients on health management and disease prevention strategies.
- Documented patient progress accurately in electronic health records systems.
- Conducted health assessments to identify patient needs and concerns.
- Utilized critical thinking skills to prioritize nursing interventions based on patients'' acuity levels and individual needs.
- Conducted thorough patient assessments to identify changes in condition, promptly notifying physicians and initiating appropriate interventions when necessary.
- Administered medications safely according to established guidelines while closely monitoring for side effects or adverse reactions requiring intervention.
- Collaborated with interdisciplinary teams to develop comprehensive treatment plans for complex patients with multiple comorbidities.
Education
Associate of Science - Nursing
Ridgewater College
05.2016
Licensed Practical Nurse - Nursing
Ridgewater College
05.2013
Skills
- Patient assessments
- Mental health nursing
- HIPAA education
- EMR / EHR
- Diabetes management
- Emergency response
- Performing ekgs
- Patient evaluation
- Strong clinical judgment
- Patient assessments
- Direct patient care
- Medication administration
Timeline
Registered Nurse
Advanced Correctional Healthcare Inc.
02.2023 - Current
Registered Nurse
Mend Correctional Care
10.2017 - 02.2023
Registered Nurse
Bethesda Health Care Facility
04.2013 - 12.2017
Licensed Practical Nurse - Nursing
Ridgewater College
Associate of Science - Nursing
Ridgewater College
Certification
RN licensure
CPR certification
AED certification