Prison Nurse: Mayhem Murder and Medicine

by Ellen Kane

Follow Nurse Kane into your first Maximum-Security penitentiary as she introduces you to a living, breathing subculture of 1400 incarcerated men at Stillwater State Prison. Meet her characters… the good the bad and the mentally ill. Learn why she worked there for ten years and still states it was the best nursing job she ever had. Her stories are compelling, horrific, funny, and sad. Unless you'd rather commit a major felony and see for yourself, this is your chance to peek inside a cell hall, get intimate with a few inmates and learn what it's like to be a prison nurse.

132 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2019

Reviews

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the most part, I liked reading this memoir written by a prison nurse. She tells a compelling story with lots of personal experiences and insights about her profession. It's a hard, stressful job, too, as she makes plain. She worked at the state prisons in Minnesota, where the inmates were the worst of the worst. She was tough as nails and worked full time while she was a single mother. She talks about her life outside the prison walls, such as the unnerving experience of bumping into the ex-cons she once served. There are a few organizational problems and repetitions typical for first-time authors, but they don't detract from her narrative.

[kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting and fascinating read. I loved the real stories and how Kane gave us both the perspective as a prison nurse and how to empathize with the prisoners. A lot of the quotes really stuck with me and I would've loved to have read more stories.

[Hannah Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book! As another correctional nurse, it was very spot on as to what life is like behind bars and what it’s like in corrections. It was very interesting to read about her experiences as a nurse at the prison because a lot of them were so similar to many instances that I’ve had myself, but there were also a couple of stories that had me very shocked to see how their safety protocols differ from ours. If you’re looking for a quick read on what it’s like to be a correctional nurse, this is a pretty good book to pick.

[Christina Potter Bieloh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such an interesting book written by a prison nurse. It is self-published and is a great start, but I just feel like it’s only a small piece or beginning to a potentially really important book.

[Keyla Damaer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prison Nurse Mayhem, Murder and Medicine by Ellen Kane is a memoir about Ms Kane as a nurse working in a correction centre. Through her personal experience and memories of events happens to others the reader learns about bad men going bad things, but mostly good men doing bad things. As a divorced woman and a single mother, Ms Kane found this job close to her house, at first in substitution for another nurse in maternity leave else and for the night shift. Even though she was not enthusiast about the opening offered, she accepted knowing that once inside she had more chances for other openings. As a matter of fact, she was right: after some time she moved to the evening shift.

As someone who worked for as a volunteer in the correction system of my country, I was delighted to read this memoir by Ellen Kane. Prison Nurse, Mayhem, Murder and Medicine is a collection of real events happened between 1985 and 1995 in the Stillwater State Prison, Minnesota. In a refreshing style, Ms Kane introduces the reader to a system of locked doors and bars where life is not easy, not only for the permanent residents but also for the employees. Through her eyes, we witness the evolution of the American correction system from rehabilitation centres to warehouse, to stock inmates like in an overbooked hotel. Despite the tough subject, I read the book in two days and was almost disappointed when I realised it was over.

Reviewed for Readers' Favorite

[Jessicka · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was poorly written and a massively missed opportunity to relate some interesting stories.

I couldn’t believe it when she spoke about an inmate who was determined to cut his femoral artery… he was put in segs and her job was to keep an eye on how the deep wound in his leg was healing.

She ADMITS that the inmate had CONTINUED to cut his thigh - EXPOSING his femoral artery and SHOWING her the sliver of glass he kept in his mouth.

Did she report it for fear of him actually killing himself or harming any guards that went to check on him?

No. She kept his ‘secret’, assuming that he wouldn’t actually cut his artery and that he was self harming as a form of manipulation.

Whilst that could be true, I don’t understand how ANYONE employed in a correctional setting could be so negligent, let alone a nurse employed in such a setting.

I work in corrections so I understand the level of manipulation that some people go to. But reading that this dude was segregated, in a suicide gown and had a massively deep wound in his leg (she said she could see his femoral artery pulsing ffs), and she didn’t report the glass he had?

Disgusting.

[Chantal Gingras · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was interesting however the repetition of stories and information took away from the reading experience for me. Overall it was a worthwhile read and would be easily improved with the help of a good editor.

[Flo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique stories, full of heart.

[Babette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book needed a good editor. So disorganized.

[Donna Tarver · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Interesting enough, but kind of bland in the telling. A lot of skipping around so that it felt more like essays than a narrative.

[Garcy LoCicero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible, powerful, and insanely gripping the whole read. Thank you for sharing Ellen, this is fucking tremendous

[Elise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Found this book to be boring and uninteresting. From a nursing perspective, I did not find this book to be helpful or insightful regarding prison nursing.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling book about nursing in a correctional facility during the 80s and 90s, Prison Nurse takes a closer look at the mistakes made by many of the good people she has worked with during her decade in the position. Not only the mistakes of the inmates, but also the mistakes of the governments at the peak of its damaging "war on drugs". The individual stories are very short and there were quite a few grammatical errors, enough to be notable. A solid, quick read from the perspective of Nurse Kane.

[Lucinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

didn't finish