[BSNStudent]

I am in my final year of a BSN program. I am rec'ving a stripend from the DHHS and will be required to spend 20 months following graduation at a federal prison. I would like to hear from anyone who has worked as a nurse in any of the federal prisons, any info you would like to share with me would be great.

[KutyaOhner]

Originally posted by BSNStudent:
I am in my final year of a BSN program. I am rec'ving a stripend from the DHHS and will be required to spend 20 months following graduation at a federal prison. I would like to hear from anyone who has worked as a nurse in any of the federal prisons, any info you would like to share with me would be great.

BSNStudent:
I have been in the Federal Prison system as a Registered Nurse for 9 years. Although not perfect, I am still here and glad I am. All of my years have been spent in various medical centers. I am now at the new Federal Medical Center in Butner, NC. It opened last week for the psychiatric patients. The medical patients will be here early next year. The medical services will include surgery, CCU, Dialysis, Oncology, and Orthopedics. There will be inhouse radiation and chemotherapy. This is a state of the art facility. You will be glad you tried correctional nursing.
KutyaOhner

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[blkgrlwithwings]

I'd like a stipend such as that one. May I ask where you went to school?

Is prison life everything you dreamed it would be?

[VegRN]

Originally Posted by blkgrlwithwings

Is prison life everything you dreamed it would be?

I think you'd have to ask the inmates about that one. LOL

[BSNinTX]

I assume you will be a newly minted LTJG Public Health Service nurse.

I've been with the FBOP for 3 years. It is NOT perfect. On the other hand, the other three jobs I had before the FBOP were not perfect. There is a lot to be said for working in corrections, and PHS makes it financially lucrative. We do not deal with insurance, precertification, family members at the bedside. I work very little overtime. I have a set schedule that is convenient. I see a great variety of things. You will have many opportunities to advance, if you are willing to move around.

The bad: the system is broken, with very sick patients at line institutions because there are not enough beds in medical centers. Staffing varies a great deal by locations, so some places are in good shape and some are not. FBOP still has many foreign medical graduates working as mid-level providers; some are good and some are bad...some are very, very bad. At line institutions, the role of the nurse can be somewhat blurred and yoy may need to define yourself very carefully. And last, it is a prison with all that that entails.