What specialty to check for experience?

[joanna_rn, BSN, RN]

Hi all!

I'm looking to apply for jobs outside of the correctional specialty. Unfortunately, this specialty isn't really recognized by many hospitals when applying. There is a section that asks for what specialty field you have had experience in, but no "other" option is available. I was wondering what I should check. I am tempted to check emergency or acute care, but I'm not sure. Any help is appreciated, thank you!

[mariebailey, MSN, RN]

Maybe you could contact someone involved in specialty certification of correctional nursing for advice. My 1st thought was public health, but I just glimpsed at this: "]RNs in such settings must understand and apply the concepts of primary care services that employ the skill sets of ambulatory care, community health, emergency, occupational health, public health, and school nursing." http://nursingworld.org/FunctionalMenuCategories/MediaResources/PressReleases/2007/RevisedCorrectionalScopeAndStandardsForNurses.html

Maybe you should check all that apply!

[CP1983, ADN, BSN, RN]

Like mariebailey said, you should call them and ask. And correctional nursing does count, I read here someone worked for Corizon for a year and received a hospital gig, I don't how long they stayed in the prison system but any experience is good experience, :-). Good luck!

[delilas]

I've largely listed mine as emergency, because that was the most acute and most utilized skill I had. But then, my prison is definitely different than most it seems - it's not uncommon to have more seizures and self-harm in a day than nurse sick call.

[joanna_rn, BSN, RN]

Thank you for your input, everybody!