corrections is fantastic!!!

what i do love about corrections is that you have a schedule and you work it. not like in the hospital, if cenus is down, you're called off. there is no cleaning up poop, the orderly's does that, no family members, no doctors, and very few attitude to deal with. most inmates are happy to recieve some kind of medical care. what i love most about my job, getting done with my shift and knowing nobody died.

update: well, i'm going into my third week and have to say correctional nursing is definately a different mind set. I'm in a county correctional facility with almost 5k i/m and from what i'm told and see working their gets better every year. i observed one day in a RN sick call clinic and have to say the setup was pretty nice. co's are present, they get a list of i/m and get them when you ask, the ARNP is present to look at pts at your request and give orders that are placed in the computer. i was pretty impressed since people's perception of working as a nurse in a corrections's facility is primitive. the pace is steady but controlled by the nurse. alot less stress than the hospital, but at the same time you have an oppurtunity to educate and perform nursing one pt at a time. i also observed in booking intake which is another different mind set. i was told this would be my primary area, what makes me nervouse is you have alot of autonomy and need to initiate alot of orders that would be cosigned by the ARNP, or followed through by mental health. what i like about this position is, you are the first line of medical eyes and have an oppurtunity to look at the whole picture once the pt is screened by ma's or have the right to tell the LEO turnaround and go to the ER. so good first initial assessments can keep the booking center smooth and calm. again so much less stress than the hospital, the flow is steady but controllable. at this time i have a good feeling about this decision and it appears there is always room to move either laterally or up in new positions. thanks for your support, i'm glad that i found this wonderful sight.

Hi everyone,

I have been working in an acute psychiatric hospital which includes forensics assessment and rehabilitation for 9 years, and love what I do. I have been considering returning to Florida and heard of Geo care facilities. I would love any input or advice that you could give me about working there, etc.

thanks

update: i'm going into my 3rd month and came to terms that my originial nursing goals are changing. I'm going to start working on my BSN this year and stay at corrections for now. I have more energy now, 100% less stress and my wife and kids are glad to have me less grumpy. The positive about my position is assessing for any potential emergencies that may occur on the main booking floor and triaging. The staff on my schedule are upbeat and are looking for positive teamwork. The negative is, I don't have much hands on. Maybe I'll pick up a day in the hospital to keep my skills up or end up in one of the clinics. I'm alot more happy and sleep better the night before work. One thing for sure, it's never boring. Later.

there are more female nurses than male nurses where i work. It comes down to being firm, fair and as honest as you need to be at that moment. i haven't seen, but i've heard stories, but i'm not disgusted by alot of things. I working at a county level which i was told is probably one of the better areas.