City Jail Nursing?

[lauralauranurse]

I recently applied for an LPN position with the Richmond, Virginia City Jail. I don't have much of an idea of what to expect IF I am offered the job.

Has anyone worked there? Heard about working there?

I know of correctional nursing positions that are available, but the jail is much closer to me and am not unsure if correctional nursing is a bit different than working in the jail system?

ANY insight would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

-Laura

[nursejudy15209]

Correctional nursing means different things to different people, depending on what your role is. As a LPN you would most likely be passing medication. I happen to think that where I work might just might be the biggest consumer of medication in the country.

My advice is to go in there with your eyes and your mind open to what the job entails. It is much different than a nursing home. My nursing judgement and/ or observations are not as important as they were when I worked with "patients" in the nursing home or hospital setting.

It's something to consider and if you are willing to try it, you might be pleasantly suprised. Or you might think that it's just not the setting for you. But you should at least try. LPN's are not afforded many opportunities to work in different arenas. We take the jobs that are "beneath" those higher up on the ladder and if you seek different, then explore correctional nursing. Some nurses are very organized and can get the job done in record time. It's like everything else, nothing is as intimidating as doing something for the first time. If you stick with it, you will soon be in a position to decide if correctional nursing is for you.

As for the difference between Richmond County Jail and correctional nursing -- aren't they one in the same?

Good luck! Looking forward to updates.

[UNCRatDog]

Hi! I'm a county jail nurse. The difference is that correctional facilities are generally state funded and city/county jails are funded directly by that city or county. At my jail, I am afforded MANY more opportunities than most LPN's in other areas. (I'm an LPN). When I go to work, I am the only nurse there and the nurse practitioner comes for 2 hours once per week. That's it. I do med passes, sick calls, intakes, emergency care...everything. I function more like an RN I suppose. We have standing orders for sick calls but are also afforded the luxury of using our nursing skills to sometimes prescribe say a different antibiotic than the standing orders call for because the inmate is allergic to that one. This is in our company policy and standing orders protocol and the NP covers the order when he comes the following week. I have a blog and wrote a very detailed description of my full day at work as well as a jail nursing video if you are interested. It's at http://ivathecitizenjournalist.blogspot.com. I do so much there it's hard to write it all here, but so many people ask about the profession, I blogged out all the details there if you want to check it out. I hope it helps and I think you'll really enjoy it if you give it a chance. You'll have many more options as an LPN there and will not feel segregated from RN's. You'll all just be nurses there. That's part of why I love jail nursing!