CA State Prisons/ County Jails? (New Gard)

Specialties Correctional

Published

Hi allnurses members!

I'm a recent new graduate waiting to soon take my NCLEX. I want to build a career in forensic and/or psych nursing and looking to apply at various CA state prisons (Folsom, Mule Creek, Salinas Valley, etc..). On my research through various platforms it's hard to find recent information.

Anyone have some experience in any of these facilities?

If so,

What are your overall thoughts of working for a CA state prison or county jail?

How was your process of applying through the state/county?

Is being a male a benefit in this setting?

What are your hours like a week and OT? (8's or 12's; night shift/morning shift)

I understand prisons are a hard place to start for new grads as the learning curve is rather steep from reading old posts, any new grads experience starting out here?

If anyone has an answer or possible answers to any of these, they would be heavily appreciated.

Thanks!

20 hours ago, yesucan said:

I keep forgetting I posted on this awhile ago. Saw the email, nice! … but Wow has time passed. Starting in the county jail as an RN has been very helpful for my eventual transfer to a CA state prison. To get the job and to manage this worK setting and patient population. I was at the county jail for nearly 7months and now have been at the prison working as an RN for over 3 years now. I enjoy the setting and I do believe it is worth the state benefits. Are there any specific questions you have? I’ve pretty much done it all here by this point ?

What are some differences working prison vs jail? Was there plenty OT in both settings? what are the schedules in jail vs prison? Did they have employee cafeteria? All the prisons seem far and in the middle of nowhere, did you just move to a rural area? If so, how are you liking it?

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Hi! I am in the final stretch of nursing school (Sacramento region of California), and trying to decide where to start my career. Similarly to you, my goal is to work with underserved/vulnerable populations, specifically with a psych and/or forensics emphasis. This is why I went to nursing school, and my passion for it has only grown. I have been interested in corrections as an option within this realm. I am just not sure where the smartest place to begin is. Despite being absolutely certain I do not want to work typical bedside ever, I am considering a new grad position in an ER, in order to get some traditional medical experience. I have enjoyed my rotations in the ER, but, in all honesty, I would only be doing this due to being told I am basically worthless and unmarketable as a nurse if I don't have at least a year of bedside to work on my "skills". It drives me insane how psych nursing, community health, corrections, etc is looked down upon. I do have a lot of support and encouragement from my mental health professor to jump in to psych, but I would love to hear more from people who have been in similar dilemmas as mine. Now that you've been at it for a while, would you have done anything differently? I am grateful for any thoughts, feelings and advice! 

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BuzzyAllyBee said:

Hi! I am in the final stretch of nursing school (Sacramento region of California), and trying to decide where to start my career. Similarly to you, my goal is to work with underserved/vulnerable populations, specifically with a psych and/or forensics emphasis. This is why I went to nursing school, and my passion for it has only grown. I have been interested in corrections as an option within this realm. I am just not sure where the smartest place to begin is. Despite being absolutely certain I do not want to work typical bedside ever, I am considering a new grad position in an ER, in order to get some traditional medical experience. I have enjoyed my rotations in the ER, but, in all honesty, I would only be doing this due to being told I am basically worthless and unmarketable as a nurse if I don't have at least a year of bedside to work on my "skills". It drives me insane how psych nursing, community health, corrections, etc is looked down upon. I do have a lot of support and encouragement from my mental health professor to jump in to psych, but I would love to hear more from people who have been in similar dilemmas as mine. Now that you've been at it for a while, would you have done anything differently? I am grateful for any thoughts, feelings and advice! 

From my research, if you go directly through the state of California (calcareers) I didn't see it mention experience so I would apply to whatever prison you want to work. Same as County jails. For LA county, you just have to have your license. HOWEVER if you want to work for the agencies, which most people do because the pay is higher, you do need 1 yr RN experience. 

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Chyna said:

From my research, if you go directly through the state of California (calcareers) I didn't see it mention experience so I would apply to whatever prison you want to work. Same as County jails. For LA county, you just have to have your license. HOWEVER if you want to work for the agencies, which most people do because the pay is higher, you do need 1 yr RN experience. 

Thanks for your input! I've also seen that very few corrections positions through the state or county require experience. Like you, I would definitely love more first hand information from those who are working in either setting, or other areas of psych! I've gotten some good feedback on other forums, thankfully! 

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For the agencies that require you to have one year of RN experience, can it be a year in a county jail or does it have to be in acute care? 

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