[Crawsu]

Originally Posted by BigB

1.getting killed by an inmate..never turn your back on one.
2.contracting HIV/AIDS from an inmate (gigantic hiv/aids population in prison) from a bite or spit.
3. Getting spit on,and urine and feces tosses on us during med pass.
4. sexual harassment is a big deal. (well, for the female nurses)

corectional nursing will make you harder, colder. but its a way of life. i still prefer it to the hospital acute setting though. a lot of male nurses like myself enjoy it, alouth a lot of women nuses don't, understandably.

I don't know how long you've been in corrections, but I'm going on 10 years and I have been spat on once, by a psych patient. I was assaulted more than once in hospital nursing and feel much safer working in correctional nursing.
For the most part, the inmates treat the nurses with respect as thay know we are there to get them health care if that is what they need. I have even had other inmates reprimand a fellow inmate who is disrespectful to the nurse. And I and other nurses on my unit have been thanked by inmates who were helped by virtue of being incarcerated and getting medical care they would not have gotten on the outside.
Granted, I work in a jail setting, so our inmates are usually not long termers with nothing to lose. I suppose that dealing with lifers might be a bit more dangerous.
Still, I have never felt threatened in this setting, and there were times in the hospital that I didn't feel as safe as I do in the correctional environment.

[maryk650]

Originally Posted by NurseNikki5

Hey Everyone,

Does anybody know the average salary for a corrections nurse and/or how it compares to hospital pay. Also, do you usually need a certain amount of RN experience? I've been an RN for about 5 months now and working in a hospital setting and I absolutley hate it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

It depends on who you work for. And the county's budget. I don't think the pay will touch what you make in the hospital but the job is not a hard one.

[wv_doc]

Hmmm. Corrections is like Clinic nursing, or ICU, or peds, or OB-GYN. If you like it, the pay is different in different situations. If the pay is the key, go work for a lawyer.
You can get $10/hr in corrections or maybe $40/hr. Maybe an attorney wil pay you more. I worked as a nurse for California in the 80's for $65k/yr. Gave it up to go to med school. Not much more pay and huge student loans. So....I could have retired next year...
If you love what you are doing, don't give it up. If you hate what you are doing, give it up at all cost!
Corrections is great for me. I am safe, there is not a lot of physical labor. My patients appreciate me, or they sue me, and I find the lawsuits interesting! I heartily recommend Corrections Larry

[bsweilrn]

I left staff nursing in Major ER/trauma center to go to corrections.
I have been here ~9mo, and make ~50K annually. I have 15 yrs of experience, and a BSN.
The pay is ~2K less base pay than hospital, but good differentials and vacation time.
Also the pace is much slower. (I am at work now)
But RN's(at least here) are treated the same as LPN's and Medical assistance with only a few exceptions.
Pretty mindless work for the pay.

[psychonurse]

There are many times that you feel a little unnerved working in corrections, I mean we work with people that have nothing to lose and would as much kill you as look at you, but I have been in this business for 16 years and I have been treated better by inmates than clients in the hospital. I think people in the hospital feel that they are in a high class motel and they don't care how many patients that you have but they are the most important.

I don't know how many times inmates have thanked me for the care that they have been given and they appreciate what we do for them. I love my job and would not go back to hospital nursing ever..this is where I am going to finish my career at and I hope that I don't hit burnout before that day happens.

[BigB]

Originally Posted by Crawsu

I don't know how long you've been in corrections, but I'm going on 10 years and I have been spat on once, by a psych patient. I was assaulted more than once in hospital nursing and feel much safer working in correctional nursing.
For the most part, the inmates treat the nurses with respect as thay know we are there to get them health care if that is what they need. I have even had other inmates reprimand a fellow inmate who is disrespectful to the nurse. And I and other nurses on my unit have been thanked by inmates who were helped by virtue of being incarcerated and getting medical care they would not have gotten on the outside.
Granted, I work in a jail setting, so our inmates are usually not long termers with nothing to lose. I suppose that dealing with lifers might be a bit more dangerous.
Still, I have never felt threatened in this setting, and there were times in the hospital that I didn't feel as safe as I do in the correctional environment.

I work at a level 4 maximum security prison. Lifers fill the place and they have nothing to lose, which is why they committ the actions i listed above (spitting, throwing feces and urine, biting, and attacking the nurses and correctional officers). While i do prefer corrections over the hospital setting and LTC, the downside to correctional nursing is it makes people harder and colder. Its the way you have to be working around killers and rapists.

[SlavicNurse]

I work in Tennessee and the starting salary for LPNs is 16-17/hr. Much better than hospitals.

[Gabbiegal31]

Hi. I am a new R.N., just got my results this morning! YAY! Anyways, I am in California and will be working at a Corrections Cener here. They just got an 18% pay raise this year. They start off at about $6650.00 a month, plus great benefits and retirement! Ya really can't beat it. They also have bonuses! ;-). Will keep you posted on how I like it. Lori R.N. (Oh that feels good! R.N.!)

[nursemomruns]

Originally Posted by Gabbiegal31

Hi. I am a new R.N., just got my results this morning! YAY! Anyways, I am in California and will be working at a Corrections Cener here. They just got an 18% pay raise this year. They start off at about $6650.00 a month, plus great benefits and retirement! Ya really can't beat it. They also have bonuses! ;-). Will keep you posted on how I like it. Lori R.N. (Oh that feels good! R.N.!)

Congratulations on becoming an RN!

[Gabbiegal31]

Thank you so much! I am on cloud 9, because like eveyone else who takes it, the waiting was sooo hard. It feels good to have all the hard work pay off! Lori ;-)