Angela Turner

Campbell University, North Carolina

I spent my summer at the medium security facility at the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina. This facility on average houses 1,000 male inmates with 200 of those being mental health inmates. The Health Services department of the facility serves both prisoners inside "the fence" and those housed at the camp next door.

There are two pharmacists and one full-time technician at this site. Pharmacist duties at the FCI typically included filling prescriptions from the chart and making sure refills were current. We were also responsible for all of the day to day duties of keeping the needle logs and stocking the two inpatient nursing stations.

The experience at Butner differs from some other institutions due to its mental health emphasis. There are three mental health units which serve the aforementioned 200 inmates. During my time at Butner, I participated with the psychiatrists and psychologists on seclusion and forensic consult teams. There were sessions held once a week to monitor the progress of the inmates in a group setting. Many of these inmates were sent to Butner to determine competency to stand trial or to determine if the inmate can be held accountable for his actions. I also had the chance to accompany a psychiatrist once a week on his outpatient consults. This was a unique way to become familiarized with various mental health conditions.

Besides the usual activities of the work week, I had the opportunity to observe several other unique programs at the institution. Art therapy was one program that I found particularly interesting. The therapist showed me interpretations of inmate artwork that she used to help diagnose illnesses. I also sat in on a lecture about suicide and its prevention. There was also the opportunity to observe the drug and alcohol dependency program and the sex offenders program.

Let me assure you that I can not do justice to this COSTEP site on paper or on the web for that matter. This summer definitely was one of learning. I had honestly never dreamed of working in a prison. This job taught me many things about pharmacy and medicine with strong emphasis on mental health. This job also taught me an invaluable lesson that there are no boundaries to pharmacy. With that I challenge all of you to leave no stone unturned in your search to find your niche in the Pharmaceutical World.

Please e-mail questions and comments to potter@fred.net Last Updated: January 26, 1998.