[PsychRN03]

BarbPick
1. The prisoners I'm referring to are a small part of a larger population, which I may never have any exposure to in the first place. If I'm not mistaken, 2 of the places are low security, so I'm fairly certain they aren't housing the specific types of criminals I am mentioning.

2. Even if they do, I never said I couldn't do my job, and I do believe, ma'am, I am a better judge of what I can or cannot do than you. I do understand you don't know me on a personal level, but would ask that you at least give me credit for having some common sense. I am not about to put myself into a situation where I cannot be the best nurse I can be. All I have said is that I have no idea how I'd react on an emotional level, if at all. This isn't being judgemental, it's being honest. You misinterpreted my original questions. I was not asking them because I was stating I would hate them, or not care for them. I was asking because I was curious if others did have situations where they ran across a person, and if so, how they reacted. Perhaps I was asking a question noone would want to admit to having happened if they were uncaring in that situation. For example:

I asked one of the nurses I work with who was an officer for several years and worked in corrections as an RN for several years as well. This person said it got to the point that if an inmate came up and said he was going to hang himself or just OD'd on something, my coworker would say "I don't care. What do you want me to do about it." and would walk off. My coworker knew it was time for a change. I believe flabbergasted would be the correct emotional response I had at that time. All I could do was giggle uncomfortably and say "Man, that's bad".

3. As for not judging pts--I have yet to meet a nurse I've worked with who hasn't on at least 1 occassion made some sort of judgemental comment about a pt or displayed a judgemental attitude. And of course I've seen 100s of posts where people have been judgemental at one time or another. Every human being is judgemental at one time or another. Of course it is not my place to say they shouldn't be doing their job because of how they judge a certain situation.

[PsychRN03]

Originally posted by LilgirlRN
there are soooooooooo many positions available to a traveler, don't limit yourself to corrections only, many high paying jobs out there.

LilgirlRN
I have a job I currently love, but I am getting a limited experience, so this is why I want to try travel nursing. I get many new experiences, and if it isn't something I enjoy, I am not tied down for too long. I have worked with vets, inpatient psych and medical pts (which did include incarcerated pts) and have had no problems. I wish to work corrections, because as I said, the criminal mind fascinates me. I'd love to have a 1st person understanding as to why a person commits a crime. What was going on that resulted in the crime being committed. I may find out that I am way too busy to get a chance to inquire, I dunno.

[bluesky]

Originally posted by BarbPick
Before I amswer, save this link, it is for the International Association of Forensic Nurses. There is a sub group of correctione Nursing in the organization. http://www.forensicnurse.org/

Now to address your concerns. A good majority of inmates had 3 rocks of crack in their posession and had to face the same mandatory sentences as drug king pins.

Second, you can really make a difference in an inmates life. While the inmate is in prision, many are working on their GED. Many get master's degrees under lock and key. You can fostor the growth of someone who has made a mistake and is paying for it. Have you ever seen the movie "shawshank redemption " Rent it.
The innocense project has freed many people from death row who were wrongly tried and sentenced.
http://www.innocenceproject.org/
If you make this agreement, it is not your job to judge.
Quoting your post, "
Are my concerns unique to me, or is this a common concern for new correctional nurses? I have always been very fascinated by the criminal mind, so I would certainly hate to let my fears get in the way of this opportunity to learn, travel to another part of this great country and make great money "
As of now, You are the wrong person for this position. For safety every nurse knows someone's criminal history.
You asked if you are unique, yes, as you made an agreement eyes wide open, but have all these barriers and roadblocks. You have not done your homework. My poor cousin Susan, God bless her, she lasted in corrections a whole 4 days.

At my county hospital, the have a unit called "ward D". for detention. The prison ward in the acute care facility. I found it a great place to work. The inmates are very possessive of their nurse and protect you at all times.

Either do some intense studying, or change the contract. Read the links I have sent you.
Barbara

My understanding is that it is not realistic to expect anyone to be bias-free. It is desirable for them to be aware of their biases and monitor themselves for shortcomings in their practice that may result but that is exactly what the OP is doing. I know many, many, many therapists, social workers, nurses who work with all kinds of populations individuals members of which they may have occasional reservations about. If all of them quit according to your recommendation, these populations would be further underserved. They continuously challenge themselves and their beliefs by stayin in the field. And by the way some of them have won very prestigious awards, including multi-million dollar grants, tenured professorships, and national publication prizes.

While it is true that the criminal injustice system is fundamentally flawed, it is still fair to assume that the OP will encounter at least a few individuals who actually did commit violent crimes. And so, to have feelings of apprehension based on this reality, is quite natural, I would say.

[BarbPick]

No matter what you say, you have no clue about Corrections Nursing. You came on with such prejudice, it doesn't matter what your Yes, but this means. You wanted answers you don't like what you got.
Do your homework.

[PsychRN03]

You are correct, I have never done corrections, so I am trying to get an idea of what it is about--what happens day to day. So here is the question I have: How exactly is you telling me I "have no business in", "wouldn't last a week in", "wrong person for", etc. providing me with any of the knowledge that you feel (and I agree and was searching for) I need about the specifics of correctional nursing? These are nothing more than toned down personal attacks. At no point have I made any statements about you as a person, communicator, educator, etc. so what exactly provoked you to attack me?

I wanted personal experiences, not opinions from someone who has never met me--about what I am (or not) capable of doing. You have had misconceptions since my original posts, and seem unwilling to budge. As I have said before this is one of the ways I am trying to do my "homework". Please allow me to make my own personal decisions according to the information I amass.

Again, and let me stress this, I appreciate your links and any factual information you provide about correctional nursing,
, but your personal prejudices, opinions, judgements, and attempts to dictate what I should/should not do are not pertinent to this discussion.

[TCJan]

The little time i worked in a Correctional facility....I passed meds. to about 250 inmates a day ! You don't have time to read charts to find out what they have done. YOu can but who has the time. The worst offenders are all put in the same area, some alone, some in the oldest part of the jail in one big barred room.......you aren't allowed to converse with the offenders. they try to and get reprimanded by the guards.

[BarbPick]

Why no business, Travel Nurses are expected to function in an area that they have experience. You are expected to show up and function, not learn a specialty. I have taken a travel assignment. I got one day to learn the facilities paper work and I was expected to perform, hit the deck running and be fully functional.
If you were so interested, why did you rant about rapests and pedophiles?

[PsychRN03]

These facilities are looking for psych nurses...which I am. I can't swear to it without interviewing, but I think there is a specific program for psych inpatients they are interviewing for. I will find out for sure if/when I get to interview. Am I qualified to work in the infirmary or their ER...nuh uh. But, I won't know specifics until I interview for a position. They are not saying you specifically have to be a correctional nurse.

All I was attempting to do was ask a legitimate question about people's experiences. Unfortunately I have been unable to hear about anyone elses' experiences other than the one my coworker shared. As another poster said, we all have personal biases, so I was hoping someone might be willing to share how they dealt with their personal biases--whether they dealt with them well or not. I specifically pointed out murderers, pedophiles, and rapists because these are crimes which are most likely to elicit an emotional response than say a drunk, drug user, or shoplifter. I think it is reasonable to believe a correctional nurse might have issues with rapists or murderers for whatever their reasons. Regardless, they still manage to care for them. It is safe to say that no nurse can relate to what a rapist has done, otherwise they wouldn't be a nurse. I tried to be clear but perhaps I wasn't clear enough in my original post. I cannot relate/sympathize/be compassionate to what a rapist has done--the act itself. I can however, show compassion for them--as a person who has needs. Here is an example from my specialty:

As I said, I am a psych nurse, and I believe if you ask psych nurses most would say in some form or another that Borderline (or some other form of AXIS II pts) are amongst the most difficult to treat. There are no meds to give them to treat their maladaptive personality traits unlike other psych disorders (eg. depression, schizophrenia, bipolar); they are extremely impulsive; they often assume the victim role; and they use any trick in the book to get things to go their way (eg. splitting the staff). I am not judging here, I am simply stating some common traits of borderlines. Still we are able to approach them with a caring, therapeutic attitude. I personally make it a point to sit down with them 1:1 for several minutes and listen to them vent their questions, concerns, and frustrations about how noone cares, or how they are mistreated, etc. I'll say it again, borderlines are a pain in the derriere--I can't always relate with their personal issues, but I can certainly care for them. I can be (and am) therapeutic.

[Aurora]

I have been reading through this thread and will briefly sum up my experiences with taking care of child molesters. Some are quite likable and some make your skin crawl. Generally, I think of them as very self-pitying, wanting special treatment --- and very non-compliant when it comes to really taking care of their health. Obviously, I refer to those with health issues, I don't see the healthy ones.

I rarely actively try to find out what an inmate's crime is, I may be kidding myself, but I don't think I detect any change in my treatment of or attitude toward a patient when I become aware of their specific crime.

I'm sure I have taken care of rapists, but I did not know it.

There was one inmate with whom I used to banter when he came for directly observed therapy. But I had an uneasy feeling about him. One day I was on the Internet, searching something related to prisons and this inmate's name turned up. He had committed a grisly murder -- of his best friend.

I was at the scene of a death investigation when a notorious child molester killed himself while in solitary. Blood everywhere -- and he as white as alabaster. It was a tragic sight. Driving home that evening, local talk show hosts were celebrating his death --- no one deserved it more --- save the state the expense of executing him, etc. I wondered if they would have been quite so callous if they had been inside that bloody cell and felt the despair of that young man.

Or maybe he was just having a temper tantrum and I'm a big sap.

Okay, that's all.

[GARYLPN]

I've worked in correctional nursing for 2+ years and I find that inmates are foremost patients not inmates. In this country 76% of incarcerated people are non-violent offenders which means they are not rapists and muderers. I give the best nursing care I can to any inmate regardless of criminal history. I don't judge people for what they've done and I don't allow anyone to mistreat any patient I take care of while on duty. This means other nursing staff or any correctional officer. I also don't take any stuff from inmates either. I treat them fairly and I expect the same from them.

If you have no corrections experience and want to try it my advice would be to go into it with an open mind and do nursing care as if you were doing nursing care on a family member but do always keep in mind that they are patients as well as inmates. Good luck.