[OneSweetNurse]

Hi VegRN
Do you have any advice for me, opinions, sugg.
I am going to apply to a co. CMS on monday
I have exp. in hospital floor nursing, floating to and from Er and my recent stint was in a behavioral nursing home (yes i know they are all behavioal) this was the county so... that shoud explain it all ha ha
I am excited and am hoping it will be different, I have read the other replys no family(thank god) and no customer serv. cards (jeeze what are those anyway lets poke the nurse because she ****** us off card or what anyway
I got into nursing to try and help people, hoping they would be greatfull (ha ha ha ha ...) well I have found out different, I am finding people think that when they are in the hospital they are in the Hilton with a burger King attached..(maid service and have it your way right now)
Sorry for the rant
Do You have any advice or anything thing
Thanks
swtnrs

[weirdRN]

Positives in Correctional Nursing:

1. It is Busy from start to finish.

2. No day is ever the same.

3. It's akin to working in the zoo. Some animals are cute, some dangerous, some obscene, some want food, some want toilet paper.

4. The patient care load is like a clinic or ER, unless you work in an infirmary, where it is like a stable end stage chronic care ward. Either way, it is not as hard to handle as the LTC setting or as high pressure as the Medsurg ward.

5. I have a GREAT NM, DON and HSA at the local level. The people higher up at corporate are mostly ... well... not very nice people. Mostly because they are penny pinching tightwads who wouldn't know the value of retaining good people if it bit them in the YAYA!

I was at a LTC facility before this. I love my job in correctional nursing. My patient load is WAY less. My stress b/c I am not able to meet every little need is WAY less. I am empowered to say NO and walk away.

[nursemollyrn]

Lots of autonomy. The officers I work with are great they really appreciate having nurses there

[Stormikris]

Thank you for this thread. After reading all the other negative threads I had pretty much decided against Correctional nursing. This thread makes it sound as doable as other areas.

[OneSweetNurse]

Stormikris
I think you took my thread wrong I am appling for a job in correctional nursing I have an interview tomorrow

My problem was in LTC (Long Term Care) and it was the Admin/managers
and I sorry to say that as for Admin it is probably "Same **** different place" it is not the patients.

Anyway I am sorry you took my thread wrong

I will let you know in the future how it goes and maybe you might change your mind

[KellieNurse06]

I have an interview this Thursday at our correctional facility in the state hospital part..I think it's the part that people get sent to by the court system for psychiatric evaluations....lots of people who have made it on the news get sent there..........
How is the pay at a correctional facility for a nurse? I am hoping it's good because I don't want to waste my time.......

[**nurse**]

I can't believe no one said, all those disfunctional men you CAN'T TAKE HOME!!!! OK, quit booing at me, it's a joke (kinda).

I love the variety, the pace differs from day to day, wide wide array of disease, injury, and disorders, coworkers from such different medical backgrounds to teach you new stuff. Also, if you have a good unit, correctional nurses love thier coworkers better than other places. The competiveness, backstabbing, meow meow seems to be a little less.

[Tampa RN]

I am a psychiatric RN, and loved getting up and going to work every day. I always felt appreciated and respected by the deputies and most inmates, in the two years I was at my position.
Well, I just resigned from "A-Correctional" r/t ugly managment. Corporate makes it clear, if you don't like something, leave. Seasoned RN or not, if you speak up about quality of care issues, it's the kiss of death.
"A-Correctional" expects a new crop of GN's coming through every 3 months or so. Who cares if frustrated nurses leave every week.
I feel sorry for the new grads, they get overwhelmed. It's one thing to learn a new and tricky job, but learning your basic nursing skills at the same time is a recipe for stress and errors, with the resultant blaming and disciplinary actions.
Corrections is paramilitary, remember, and there is always disciplinary action, because leased company "A-Correctional" has to report back to the client about what action they took.
New nurses, avoid corrections until you have solid nursing skills.
Go somewhere you will be precepted and supported while you perfect your basic skills. Then, go for it! I have found corrections to be the most personally rewarding nursing job I have done in the 15 years I've been a nurse.
In fact, I am in the process of getting credentialed in Correctional nursing.
Leaving was a terrible decision to have to make. I miss everything about that job, except that miserable leased company. They have no respect for their nurses or doctors.
NOTE: A-Correctional" didn't present a single nurse with a cheap keychain or even good wishes for nurses' week. They appear very contemptuous of their medical personnel. In my experience, their management style breeds an atmosphere of paranoia, fear and mean attitude. Everyone knows that they could be the next one thrown under the bus when something goes awry. So staff spends more time watching each other and pointing fingers than doing their work.
Such a simple concept to be supportive and provide positive feedback, instead. But in nursing, the creed seems more often "us against them"?


Any management who cares to share their thoughts?

[bighousenurse]

I feel sorry for the new grads, they get overwhelmed. It's one thing to learn a new and tricky job, but learning your basic nursing skills at the same time is a recipe for stress and errors, with the resultant blaming and disciplinary actions.

New nurses, avoid corrections until you have solid nursing skills.
Go somewhere you will be precepted and supported while you perfect your basic skills. Then, go for it! I have found corrections to be the most personally rewarding nursing job I have done in the 15 years I've been a nurse.

In fact, I am in the process of getting credentialed in Correctional nursing.
Leaving was a terrible decision to have to make. I miss everything about that job, except that miserable leased company. They have no respect for their nurses or doctors.

I have to politely disagree with Tampa RN on this one. I started my career in corrections as soon as I received my RN license. Can it work? HECK YEA! I work with a great bunch of seasoned nurses (RN's & LPN's alike) and I learn concepts--both patient care and security still almost everyday. As for no respect, I have great respect from the officers and other medical staff, they think it took a lot of guts for me to step in to corrections fresh out of school. I had 3 people interview me for the position I hold now, the Nurse Supervisor, Unit Manager, and Human Resources Manager. If they didn't think I could "cut it", I wouldn't have been hired. Are they happy with their choice in me? Yes! Am I happy? YES! We have an infirmary on-site, I do patient care as though I am working in a traditional hospital. I start IV's, push meds, sterile dressings, CVP's, TPN, ostomy care, take care of post surgical patients, triage emergency care, and assess inmates with potential life-threatening problems that I collaborate with the doctor on call to send out to the hospital. I love my job, the people I work with, the pay, benefits, liberal days off, and best of all, full retirement after 20 years of service with health insurance benefits. I say "go for it", interview for one of these positions, let management decide if your worthy enough to put in there. They do not take that decision lightly, it costs them a lot of money to train and prepare staff to handle the extremes of correctional care. Good luck in whatever you decide!

[KellieNurse06]

Hey all....I applied for & got hired for a corrections nurse near where I live.....so I am very excited! I actually applied to it for the benefits, as for the state they are great. I honestly thought they weren't hiring me...so I got ahold of the person who is the employment person & they said they actually just got told to make me an offer for the job......it took about 8 days & I really thought they changed their mind....lo & behold! I am excited & nervous ..but hey if it doesn't pan out I can always start looking around again for something else....... ...I am going to be doing 24 hrs a week on 2nd shift in the state hospital part of the correctional facility.....