[babymeena]

Hi, all. I recently became interested in correctional nursing.

I'm contemplating which facility would be a better place to work. There is California institute for women(CIW) in Corona and California Rehabilitation Center(CRC) in Norco. They're both close to my house and I would love to work in any of those facilities. I'm a bit concerned about CIW because I hear that female inmates are much worse than males.

I see that CIW houses level I, II, III, & RC and CRC only houses level II. What do these levels mean? I did find out level I is minimum but is there a place where I could find out exactly what these levels mean? Which facility might be safer according to the level?

I received an emplyment inquiry from CIW which I promptly returned. I'm hoping to get a response soon. I'm sooo excited and can't wait!!!

Any pointers on interview skills would be greatly appreciated although I don't think I would even make it to the interview since I hear the competition is fierce. I only scored something like 83% on the initial "exam" as I was only half-hearted when I initially took the exam. I can tell I'm not one of the strongest candidate because I took the exam around December last year and just now being contacted. I'm sure I'll be a nervous wreck if I were contacted for an interview.

Thanks in advance for all your input!

[Sheri257]

I'm not trying to put a damper on your excitement but, a friend of mine interviewed at CIW about a month ago and didn't get hired. There was only one night position available and apparently there were several applicants. There's a lot of competition for jobs at those facilities (Chino, Norco, Corona) because the pay is so much better than local hospitals.

As far as which facilities and/or units are "better" ... one thing I've learned while working at CDC is what you hear is "better" isn't always the case. I've also heard that female inmates are much more demanding and difficult to take care of than male inmates. On the other hand, I'll reserve judgement until I work with female inmates myself.

Because as far as levels are concerned, I personally prefer units with Level 4 inmates ... even though people said it would be bad. (Level 1 is supposedly the least dangerous inmates while Level 4 is the most dangerous.) It sounds crazy because they are the most dangerous inmates but ... I've personally found it's a better work environment.

Why? Because there's a lot more custody control and a lot more officers on those units. The inmates are handcuffed, put in cages and each one of them is individually escorted by an officer. Sure ... the inmates might make a lot more noise yelling to each other on the unit but, with those security restrictions, that's all they can do ... because you have much more control over who you see and when you see them.

But if you're working on a lower level yard with so-called "safer" inmates, they can walk around with a lot more freedom and they're not handcuffed when you see them. Therefore, it can be a much more chaotic work environment.

The inmates are always coming up to you asking you for things, complaining about this or that, knocking on the clinic windows, trying to get into the clinic without appointments, etc. It can be much more difficult to manage, especially when you have to see 20-30 inmates a day and there's typically only one officer to control the situation which, at least in my experience, can often mean there's not much control at all.

Give me a "bad boy" unit any day because, I'd rather have a dozen officers around and inmates in handcuffs rather than inmates running around making demands.

[suecdnp2b]

I worked at CIW and really enjoyed it! I would have stayed but they did not get 12 hour shifts and the commute was very long...Good luck w the job application there are some very nice nurses there.

[babymeena]

Thanks for the info. I hope I get a chance to work there. =)

[suecdnp2b]

[teinelavaalbj]

I would not mind working with you, hook me up, i can be your backup. Go for it, the highest the level, the more protection you get; good luck, i wish i would get the opportunity to work those facilities 'cause i also live close by.

Originally Posted by socalmedcareer

Hi, all. I recently became interested in correctional nursing.

I'm contemplating which facility would be a better place to work. There is California institute for women(CIW) in Corona and California Rehabilitation Center(CRC) in Norco. They're both close to my house and I would love to work in any of those facilities. I'm a bit concerned about CIW because I hear that female inmates are much worse than males.

I see that CIW houses level I, II, III, & RC and CRC only houses level II. What do these levels mean? I did find out level I is minimum but is there a place where I could find out exactly what these levels mean? Which facility might be safer according to the level?

I received an emplyment inquiry from CIW which I promptly returned. I'm hoping to get a response soon. I'm sooo excited and can't wait!!!

Any pointers on interview skills would be greatly appreciated although I don't think I would even make it to the interview since I hear the competition is fierce. I only scored something like 83% on the initial "exam" as I was only half-hearted when I initially took the exam. I can tell I'm not one of the strongest candidate because I took the exam around December last year and just now being contacted. I'm sure I'll be a nervous wreck if I were contacted for an interview.

Thanks in advance for all your input!