California Corrections

Published

What is going on with California Corrections. I just had an interview with corrections and their not even hiring right now, infact they dont know when or if they will be. Iwish i would have known that before i drove all the way ouy there. sorry just venting. But i really feel bad for the MTA's who are going through a big change.

I don't know about northern Cali but, I'd call the prison and ask them. Bay Area pay is higher in hospitals so, there may not be as much competition. In my area, the prisons pay a good $15-$20 an hour more than the hospitals so ... that's why there's so much competition for those jobs.

:typing

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Oh geez? NCLEX style questions? I have an interview with the CDC pretty soon, so maybe I should take a quick look over a few things before I go in. Were they general questions or were they geared toward prison work, like psych, communicable diseases, etc?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

This is going to be another long post but, hopefully it will be helpful. I can't get too specific because they ask you not to disclose the questions and, besides, from what I hear they change the questions anyway but ... it was all over the place: anything from critical care to psych to corrections specific conditions to basic nursing care.

But here's the thing: I've interviewed with both state corrections and mental health and, I have no proof of this but, IMO, I think they ultimately hire who they want to hire regardless of how you answer the questions and here's why:

With mental health, their biggest problem is that, unlike a prison, they don't have a bunch of CO's around to deal with inmates/patients when they go crazy and there's a big take down. Ironically, in criminal psych security is a much bigger issue because technically, they're considered patients, not inmates, so there's a lot less security precautions. The staff is in a lot more danger.

Therefore, even though I'm pretty sure I aced that exam (which for mental health is an oral exam, not online like corrections), and I graduated 2nd in my nursing class ... guys in my class who barely passed and even flunked a semester ... scored higher than I did with that state exam. The guys even told me they didn't know half the answers.

So why did the men score so high and the women didn't? (Other women I know also scored lower than the guys). Because in criminal psych ... they need guys because the facility won't protect them. And I really don't blame them for that bias.

I later found out that one of the supervisors who was on my exam panel is in charge of one of the most dangerous units in the facility ... an RN actually got stabbed there. So I really can't blame him for having a bias towards hiring men ... even though officially they're not supposed to have any bias. Afterall, what are women going to do when a patient goes nuts and attacks people?

I've seen those take downs and, for the most part, women aren't much help for obvious reasons. Sure ... they call in hospital police but, there's only a few of those guys around and with 20 different units it can take them 5-10 minutes to get there. If I was a criminal psych supervisor I'd want some big guys working on my unit also.

But in state corrections, they already have plenty of CO's everywhere so ... it's not as much of an issue. Because I had a death in the family and was called in on such short notice, I had no time to prepare for that interview/exam. I'm certain I totally bombed it because one of the panel members even scolded me for not knowing stuff I should have known fresh out of school ... but what can I say: it was a really bad week and I just wasn't on the ball.

Nevertheless ... I was hired. Why? Because other panel members were interested in the fact that I had prison experience and could handle the work. I also told them I don't have any kids and would be happy to work mandatory OT because I still have student loans to pay off.

So ... other than having to score high enough to get your foot in the door, these interviews/exams are, IMO, more of a formality. Of course ... study for it as much as you can but, I'm not sure it's the end all be all of getting hired. I think there are other factors at play depending on where you're interviewing and what they're looking for.

:typing

Up Vote Up Vote ×

RE: "But the hiring interview wasn't really much of a hiring interview at all. Ironically, that was more like a real exam where they could ask you anything ... just like the NCLEX ... and they do ask you NCLEX type questions. It was very difficult"

Sherry: Was this a written exam or an oral exam?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
RE: "But the hiring interview wasn't really much of a hiring interview at all. Ironically, that was more like a real exam where they could ask you anything ... just like the NCLEX ... and they do ask you NCLEX type questions. It was very difficult"

Sherry: Was this a written exam or an oral exam?

Oral. A panel asks you questions.

:typing

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi, I'm new to this thread, I am an RN who speaks publicly about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and the effects. I would love to be able to provide this information to female inmates. Do the Ca Systems offer education to them? So much of the population inside is probably FAS already, I thought it might be a great way to get the word to a "captive" audience.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I actually live near CSP, CMF and its true that they are subtracting the MTA's and hiring LVN's. I've heard that LVN's make a fair amount, 5,000 not including overtime, that's not bad.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Some articles on Patient advocacy issues facing correctional RNs in California. The history and role of the MTA is discussed:

Page 22: http://www.calnurses.org/publications/calnurse/2005/calnurse_sept_2005_complete.pdf

http://www.calnurses.org/publications/calnurse/2006/calnurse_jan_feb_2006.pdf

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Did the pay go up for LVN'S within the last month because when I worked there the pay was low $3385 per month

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Did the pay go up for LVN'S within the last month because when I worked there the pay was low $3385 per month

No ... the pay did not go up. It's still $3385 except for three facilities where the pay starts at $3,800.

http://www.cya.ca.gov/CareerOpportunities/HR/OPS/Exams/Medical_Care_Exams/HC_Bulletins/LicVocNurseCF-O-C.pdf

And believe me, the LVN's are NOT happy about it. Some of them are really PO'd that the RN's are making a lot more than they are.

:typing

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Some articles on Patient advocacy issues facing correctional RNs in California. The history and role of the MTA is discussed:

Page 22: http://www.calnurses.org/publications/calnurse/2005/calnurse_sept_2005_complete.pdf

http://www.calnurses.org/publications/calnurse/2006/calnurse_jan_feb_2006.pdf

I agree that the MTA position had to go ... you can't be both a patient advocate and a corrections officer.

But, at the same time, these inmates sure can make it difficult to advocate for them. One of them threw feces and urine at a nurse just last week.

Nevertheless, we had one inmate with a documented history of kidney stones who was experiencing severe flank pain. Since he had this condition before it was highly unlikely that he was faking but ... the CO refused to take him to the hospital. I guess this CO and the inmate had a history so we had to call his Sgt. before the CO agreed to take him.

As nurses we did our job but, I have to admit I have mixed feelings about this. The state is spending so much money on inmate healthcare yet people who've never committed a crime in their life can't get any healthcare. You can't help but wonder if all of this money should go to law abiding citizens instead.

:typing

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion