How does prison nursing compare to med-surg & other hospital environments?

Specialties Correctional

Published

Hi, I am a "new grad" RN (graduated BSN Spring 16, got my license May 17), looking to build a solid skill base for my career. I'm curious how prisons work: do they have an ED, med surg, ICU etc floor like a hospital would, or how does it work?

I live in CA and the job market for new grads is tough right now, I've been applying for jobs in the prison and jail system and the descriptions of the jobs themselves seem vague to me, like I can't tell if I'm applying for an ICU job, a med surg job, etc or if that's even relevant.

It is very important to me to build a strong, broad skill base transferable to many environments, would I get this at a prison or jail or would it be something highly specific to that environment?

Thanks so much for your opinions ahead of time!

Specializes in Corrections and Physc.

Although this sounds crazy you are safer working in a prison or jail than any hospital I have worked both for the past 5 years.

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New to the jail but it is very, very, very safe. Jail is 1000 times safer than my previous job in medsurg/tele/stepdown. In my brief experience in jail, they care whether the patient(inmate) is disrespectful/tries to abuse/etc the nurse and it is not tolerated. Short staffing, not tolerated. And the patients family is not there to abuse the nurse either :) Ive heard some folks cant handle the big doors/iron bars/etc but I needed a job and Im a professional Im not about to let it get to me, I think its just something that takes getting used to. Yeah its weird to see people locked up but the justice system is there for a reason even if its not perfect, and I feel like I can really make a difference helping the patients. If you like order and structure and dont mind paperwork might be a good fit.

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Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.
Although this sounds crazy you are safer working in a prison or jail than any hospital I have worked both for the past 5 years.

Funny that you should say that. Before getting into correctional nursing, I worked in a metropolitan hospital that wasn't in the best of neighborhoods. Many times when I was walking the back hallways on evening or night shift I encountered people who seemed unstable, and I wasn't sure what they were going to do. Walking the yard, I am reasonably sure that the people I am walking past aren't carrying firearms. Generally speaking, inmates are very courteous to us.

As one of our associate wardens told us in a safety lecture, most issues in prison happen in one-on-one encounters. It isn't a good idea to be anywhere alone with an inmate. When they are in groups, you are generally safe. They aren't going to suddenly throw down their basketball and pounce on you.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

No experience in prisons whatsoever- but I would imagine you have no unreasonable 'customer service' expectations placed upon you. Right?

Because seriously, where we are looking to retire there are two prisons- and I could totally do some per diem there.

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That is correct!

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Would you mind giving an example of a typical (lol, we all know that doesn't exist) day? Are the nurses assigned to a group of prisoners like in a hospital? tIA

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Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.
No experience in prisons whatsoever- but I would imagine you have no unreasonable 'customer service' expectations placed upon you. Right?

If an inmate starts popping off, I tell the officer "We're done here", and the visit ends. No placating abusive people because they are paying customers.

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