Anyone work as a Psych nurse with sex offenders?

Balder_LPN, LPN · Nov 30, 2005

Providing nursing care to a sex offender does not involve putting your morals "behind you." Providing care does not mean that you are condoning or participating in immoral behavior, it means that you are doing your job as a nurse. No matter what crimes or sins a person has committed, witholding care or providing less than your best care is unprofessional and immoral in itself.

:yeahthat: :yeahthat:

I wonder where teeituptom is with some of his "interesting" solutions.

NPAlby · Dec 3, 2005

I'm a psych nurse working on a sexual offenders ward right now. Yes sometimes it is hard to separate the "patient" from their offense. This is especially true when some of their charts includes pictures of their victims. Somehow I do it. I'm here to be a nurse not to judge anyone. I think in my case it helps that I've worked in forensic psych for a while now. Anyway, just wanted to add my two cents.

funnygirl_rn · Jan 8, 2006

I'm just a cna/cmt but I also wonder how in the world could you put your morals behind you and take care of sex offenders. i would find that to be very challenging i'm not trying to down grade or judge I just don't think I personally would be able to do that

Tiffanycmt....you could be taking care of a patient on a med-surg unit, telemetry, ER , etc... and how you wouldn't know if that person was a sex offender and/or commited some heinous crime would you? But, you still have to take care of that patient regardless, he/she is entitled to treatment no matter what you think. It can be very difficult.

Red Wing Magnolia · Jan 20, 2006

I work for a state that has a contracted civil commitment program for sexually violent predators that have served their prison time but are still a high risk to the community. The court commits them to a locked program after thorough assessment of their risk. The facility is set up in an old prison. The problem I have is that some of the nurses treat the men badly and are at times unprofessional. I find unprofessional behavior to be unacceptable in any circumstance. I am proud to be a nurse and feel that every person receiving nursing services should be treated with dignity and respect. It is not our place to judge others. No, I don't like what these men have done and some are rude, angry, and very unlikeable. But, these men are committed to our care and deserve to receive the nursing services they need. I agree this is not an easy field and not many nurses would chose to work in this area. Better to find another job that gives you satisfaction than lower your standard of nursing care. :nurse:

grannynurse FNP student · Jan 20, 2006

I work for a state that has a contracted civil commitment program for sexually violent predators that have served their prison time but are still a high risk to the community. The court commits them to a locked program after thorough assessment of their risk. The facility is set up in an old prison. The problem I have is that some of the nurses treat the men badly and are at times unprofessional. I find unprofessional behavior to be unacceptable in any circumstance. I am proud to be a nurse and feel that every person receiving nursing services should be treated with dignity and respect. It is not our place to judge others. No, I don't like what these men have done and some are rude, angry, and very unlikeable. But, these men are committed to our care and deserve to receive the nursing services they need. I agree this is not an easy field and not many nurses would chose to work in this area. Better to find another job that gives you satisfaction than lower your standard of nursing care.

I have a question and I am not sure you can answer it. How can your state civilly commit these men, when they have completed their prison sentence? And how long is their civil commitment for. To me, this is an attempt by a state legislature to hijack the mental health system and an attempt to add time to their sentence. That being said, I am not surprised at your comment concerning other nurses. Unfortunately nurses tend to be very judgmental, especially of those whose behavior they disagree with, including abused women, drug addicts and sex offenders. It is unfortunate that they cannot treat their patients as patients, without hold their issues against them.

Grannynurse:balloons:

tiffanycmt · Jan 21, 2006

Tiffanycmt....you could be taking care of a patient on a med-surg unit, telemetry, ER , etc... and how you wouldn't know if that person was a sex offender and/or commited some heinous crime would you? But, you still have to take care of that patient regardless, he/she is entitled to treatment no matter what you think. It can be very difficult.

yes i understand this but what i was trying to say is I would NOT be able to apply for a job that i knew would be sex offenders i would be caring for in the er i'm sure they do come in however there not going to tell you hey im a sex offender. As i said in my post i'm not trying to pass judgement i was asking how you could do it and for the ppl that said that if you are abused (in whatever way) as a child that you are more likely to do the same I don't believe that at all b/c i myself was abused as a child and i would NEVER think of doing something like that i know this post will probally get alot of ppl upset but god gave you a mind of your own to make choices reguardless of your upbringing. God bless Tiffany

tiffanycmt · Jan 21, 2006

I work for a state that has a contracted civil commitment program for sexually violent predators that have served their prison time but are still a high risk to the community. The court commits them to a locked program after thorough assessment of their risk. The facility is set up in an old prison. The problem I have is that some of the nurses treat the men badly and are at times unprofessional. I find unprofessional behavior to be unacceptable in any circumstance. I am proud to be a nurse and feel that every person receiving nursing services should be treated with dignity and respect. It is not our place to judge others. No, I don't like what these men have done and some are rude, angry, and very unlikeable. But, these men are committed to our care and deserve to receive the nursing services they need. I agree this is not an easy field and not many nurses would chose to work in this area. Better to find another job that gives you satisfaction than lower your standard of nursing care.

That is what I was trying to say i KNOW that i would NOT be good in that type of nursing so i wouldn't apply for a job like that But i don't think that means that i should not be a nurse.

Thunderwolf, MSN, RN · Jan 21, 2006

yes i understand this but what i was trying to say is I would NOT be able to apply for a job that i knew would be sex offenders i would be caring for in the er i'm sure they do come in however there not going to tell you hey im a sex offender. As i said in my post i'm not trying to pass judgement i was asking how you could do it and for the ppl that said that if you are abused (in whatever way) as a child that you are more likely to do the same I don't believe that at all b/c i myself was abused as a child and i would NEVER think of doing something like that i know this post will probally get alot of ppl upset but god gave you a mind of your own to make choices reguardless of your upbringing. God bless Tiffany

You make a most excellent point, Tiff.

StuPer · Jan 23, 2006

Hi All,

I too have worked with this client group in the past, and it is hard, but as has been said you focus on the needs of the person at that time and not judge/think about the index offence. I have to say there were a few times I really wanted to let rip on a few of these individuals, but I would say the most valuable lesson I learnt was how in fact to maintain a professional attitude no matter what the provocation.

Incidentially the causal link mentioned by a few posters that abused often become abusers is in fact largely discredited. The limited research that has been done in the area has been flawed to say the least, a summary is available with this citation:

Title: The abused/abuser hypothesis of child sexual abuse: A critical review of theory and research

Author(s): Randall J. Garland and Michael J. Dougher

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico

Citation: Garland, R.J. & Dougher, M.J., “The abused/abuser hypothesis of child sexual abuse: A critical review of theory and research,” in Feierman, J. (ed.), Pedophilia: Biosocial Dimensions, New York: Springer-Verlag, 1990, pp. 488-509.

One piece of research which led the thinking of some sociologists for a while showed such a link, but it turned out later that the researcher had asked the question of abusers 'were you abused as a child?', but he failed to establish how many people who had been abused as children didn't abuse their children. When the groups were compared it appeared the ratio of abused/abusers, abused/non-abusive to non-abused/abusers was more of less the same. I cant for the life of me remember the author, but this was taught as part of my basic mental health nurse training to show the value of good research, and how urban myths can sometimes become fact.

regards StuPer

funnygirl_rn2 · Jan 23, 2006

yes i understand this but what i was trying to say is I would NOT be able to apply for a job that i knew would be sex offenders i would be caring for in the er i'm sure they do come in however there not going to tell you hey im a sex offender. As i said in my post i'm not trying to pass judgement i was asking how you could do it and for the ppl that said that if you are abused (in whatever way) as a child that you are more likely to do the same I don't believe that at all b/c i myself was abused as a child and i would NEVER think of doing something like that i know this post will probally get alot of ppl upset but god gave you a mind of your own to make choices reguardless of your upbringing. God bless Tiffany

tiffanycmt...now I understand what you meant since you explained it differently. I am sorry to hear that your were abused as a child.

sanctuary, BSN, MSN, RN · May 25, 2006

Must of the perp I have worked with in both adult and adolescent age groups have been victims. "Abused children abuse children." And, yes, it is about power, not sex. Group therapy seems to have the most long term effect. Many of the females develop behavior patterns typical of Borderline Personalities.

indigo girl · May 25, 2006

Thanks :) I work mostly with children/adolescents so the victim-perpetrator cycle is right in my face everyday. But I can sort of see someone who doesn't see the link would question how we can work with them.

What sort of treatment works for these kids? I'm getting that it's not the same as pedophilia if you are still a child yourself, would that be correct?

Are there any studies on long term outcomes of these treated kids? Sorry to sound so ignorant, it's not my field. I can see that if intervention really works that this is REALLY IMPORTANT to society as a whole, and some big bucks should be spent on it. I admire your ability to do this work and wish you well.