[kito4149]

I work for CMS in Arkansas. My supervisor IS the absolute best. The turnover is so bad here that she WORKS with your schedule so that you won't quit b/c of too many/not enough hours. Working in correctional nursing is the easiest job. The pay is great, the benefits are wonderful, and you know what you are dealing with day to day.

[Sheri257]

Originally Posted by VegRN

Dozens? Excuse my naivety but, it's that common for nurses who chose to work in corrections to fall for the flattery of inmates?

Scary

I've only occassionally heard of nurses falling for inmates but there is a HUGE problem at my facility with female CO's falling for inmates ... especially the young ones. I'm not sure why but ... they have had to fire dozens of female CO's for this reason.

Maybe it's because on the outside, you may not be the best looking woman in the world but, in prison, you're the most gorgeous woman on the planet. Of course, at my age ... I know better.

As far as getting hired ... I don't think looks matter as much as experience. The state facilities I've interviewed with are looking for prior corrections and/or criminal psych experience more than anything else ... because a lot of nurses who are new to corrections end up not liking it and they want to make sure you can handle it.

[Sheri257]

Originally Posted by newtress

I am planning on leaving the south and going back to Cali. The state is in great need of nurses for the Cal correctional facilities.

Actually, you may be in for a shock because I was surprized to learn there's now a waiting list for California state corrections RN jobs. Ever since the big pay raises came down, 3,000 RN's are now on the waiting list statewide. The five state prisons in my area each had a waiting list of 200-300 RN's.

Maybe it's different in other areas of the state, especially rural areas that are difficult to staff, but in my area it's very tough to get hired on. The only reason I got hired was because I went to work for a private contracted prison and got some corrections experience. It's very, very competitive, at least in my area.

[military spouse]

Originally Posted by Sheri257

I've only occassionally heard of nurses falling for inmates but there is a HUGE problem at my facility with female CO's falling for inmates ... especially the young ones. I'm not sure why but ... they have had to fire dozens of female CO's for this reason.

Maybe it's because on the outside, you may not be the best looking woman in the world but, in prison, you're the most gorgeous woman on the planet. Of course, at my age ... I know better.

As far as getting hired ... I don't think looks matter as much as experience. The state facilities I've interviewed with are looking for prior corrections and/or criminal psych experience more than anything else ... because a lot of nurses who are new to corrections end up not liking it and they want to make sure you can handle it.

About a year ago, we had several nurses become involved with inmates. One even had a baby!! I havent' heard of us having this problem lately, but.................

[Sheri257]

Originally Posted by military spouse

About a year ago, we had several nurses become involved with inmates. One even had a baby!! I havent' heard of us having this problem lately, but.................

I'll admit that I've had a crush or two on some of the CO's. Especially during my first week on the job when I was feeling kinda vulnerable. It probably had more to do with the stress of the situation but, during my first lockdown there was something very attractive about big men in uniform with weapons. Of course, I kept my feelings to myself and behaved professionally at all times.

But inmates? Ugh. I just can't see the attraction. I'm sorry but, for lack of a better term ... those guys are so gross. I would NEVER risk my license for inmates.

[military spouse]

Originally Posted by Sheri257

I'll admit that I've had a crush or two on some of the CO's. Especially during my first week on the job when I was feeling kinda vulnerable. It probably had more to do with the stress of the situation but, during my first lockdown there was something very attractive about big men in uniform with weapons. Of course, I kept my feelings to myself and behaved professionally at all times.

But inmates? Ugh. I just can't see the attraction. I'm sorry but, for lack of a better term ... those guys are so gross. I would NEVER risk my license for inmates.

I know!! With all of the MRSA, HIV, Hep C, and STDs we see in the prison, I can never imagine being attracted to an inmate. Many of ours seem to swing the other way when they don't have access to women. That really surprised me!

[Paul554]

Hi:

I know that this will not sit well with many out there, nor will it be PC, but I think that good looks could be considered a negative. This occurs in all areas of corrections not just nursing. There is a reason for this. The staff that make hiring decisions have to balance many considerations when hiring. One of these is the fact that inmates are far more likely to attempt to corrupt an actractive staff member than one who is more average looking. Believe me, in the institutions where I have worked, I have seen this happen. I know that that is not what should be the case but it is. After all what manager is going to hire a potential problem. So it really comes down to their perception of any potential employee in terms of how likely they would be to be corrupted by inmates.

Another problem is that some simply do not dress appropriately for the environment. I often wonder exactly what they are trying to do. Also I have seen staff, male and female, flirt with inmates in a manner that is very difficult to understand. Actually this is a huge problem at female institutions even more so than male institutions. I know that where I work we are constitantly trained to avoid this sort of situation, but still our attrition rate due to this is about 1% per year.

Just my opinion but after all if we lived in a perfect world there would be no need for jails, would there?

Paul

[newtress]

Okay, this is what I was fishing for in my original post. I still have an interest for nursing in a correctional environment, but still wondered if when an applicant gets a face to face interview, and that applicant resembles an actress, a celebrity, or imagine if you will the likeness of a Pamela Anderson. I am pushing at exageration here, but what if the applicant was perfectly qualified, an excellent and skilled nurse who did look like a Pamela Anderson. I must remind everyone that no, I do not look like an actress or a model at all. And glad that I don't. Because I still do believe that looks can be a hinderance to being hired. And in some work environments, may not be an asset to the workplace or the employee. Especially in an inmate/medical environment. Am I writing an english paper here? Sorry about that, but this is an area that was NEVER covered in nursing school. And why not? Every other socio/cultural aspect to nursing but none addressed about correctional nursing. I have a very high respect for all nurses who have chosen this field of nursing, and I was fishing out of curiosity on this subject. Paul 554 may have satisfied some of that curiosity.

[VegRN]

Originally Posted by Paul554

Hi:

I know that this will not sit well with many out there, nor will it be PC, but I think that good looks could be considered a negative. This occurs in all areas of corrections not just nursing. There is a reason for this. The staff that make hiring decisions have to balance many considerations when hiring. One of these is the fact that inmates are far more likely to attempt to corrupt an actractive staff member than one who is more average looking. Believe me, in the institutions where I have worked, I have seen this happen. I know that that is not what should be the case but it is. After all what manager is going to hire a potential problem. So it really comes down to their perception of any potential employee in terms of how likely they would be to be corrupted by inmates.

Another problem is that some simply do not dress appropriately for the environment. I often wonder exactly what they are trying to do. Also I have seen staff, male and female, flirt with inmates in a manner that is very difficult to understand. Actually this is a huge problem at female institutions even more so than male institutions. I know that where I work we are constitantly trained to avoid this sort of situation, but still our attrition rate due to this is about 1% per year.

Just my opinion but after all if we lived in a perfect world there would be no need for jails, would there?

Paul

This is not what I have seen. As one of the other posters said, while you may be average looking or even not attractive outside of the prison, you are hot stuff in the prison because inmates see so few women.
Nurses falling for inmates has very little to do with the looks of the nurse. If a nurse has poor boundaries, is easily manipulated, too trusting, that is what is going to get her in trouble.
These guys are going to try to play one over on you whether you are male or female, young or old, attractive or not attractive. Whether they are looking for a "relationship", drugs, money, special privileges or something else, no one is immune. We all have to be aware of the manipulation of inmates and stop it right when they try to start it.
And because of the nursing shortage, I doubt an institution would turn away a qualified employee simply because she was attractive. Dressing professionally, having good boundaries, and not being afraid to say "no" are far bigger deals than a candidate being "too attractive"

[Sheri257]

Originally Posted by VegRN

And because of the nursing shortage, I doubt an institution would turn away a qualified employee simply because she was attractive. Dressing professionally, having good boundaries, and not being afraid to say "no" are far bigger deals than a candidate being "too attractive"

I agree. We have lots of good looking nurse at my facility so, obviously, they don't care about that.

What they do care about is hiring nurses who don't get freaked out by the corrections environment because some of them end up not being able to handle it ... (although I'm not sure why because, IMO, this particular prison is MUCH safer than the one I previously worked at ... for one thing there are tons of CO's everywhere and the inmates are always handcuffed and shackled).

They also want nurses to be team players. There's so much work to be done, they don't want nurses complaining about being floated to different areas where they are needed. Afterall ... this facility pays nurses really well so, they don't have much tolerance for primma donnas.

In other words ... they're like any employer. Their top priority is finding good employees who will get the work done without complaint, plain and simple.

I'd say looks are probably the last thing on their list of things they worry about. Besides ... every inmate is accompanied by not just one but TWO CO's ... not to mention there's always tons of other people around so ... the opportunity to get involved with any inmate is pretty limited for most nurses at my facility.