Common Correctional Nursing Interview Questions

I'm collecting a compendium of Interview Questions and best answers for folks prepping for a correctional nursing job interviews. Could you chime in with yours even if you might have posted elsewhere on this forum? It would be good to have them all in one place for newbies searching this site.

Thanks for all the time and effort you spend helping new correctional nurses learn the ropes!

How do the day to day duties differ between an LVN and an RN in the prisons I am coming from a hospice scenario where the LVN was required to almost everything the RN did. I have applied for a California prison?

What are some typical psych scenarios besides man down and attempted suicide what kinds of manipulation questions could I get in my interview as an LVN?

It was a long time ago but will an associate of science degree in Admin of justice Corrections option help me at all in getting the job,just hoping.

Nurse_Jessica_ said:
Scenario ?'s like if there was an inmate with over 200 blood sugar & no coverage, hypertensive inmate c/o HA & ESRD w/sepsis. :nurse:

What is the answer they are looking for here? To me, it is very clear what my scope is. If there is a protocol, follow it. If there is no protocol, call the provider for orders. Am I missing something?

I have an upcoming interview for LVN position at a correctional facility in Ca.I would like to ask for pointers,possible interview questions and what nursing fundamentals,theories and concepts i should focus...i really want this job and i dont want to screw this up.thank you so much!

Specializes in Forensic Psych RN.

search correctional nursing on this site. Lori Schoenly administrates this subject on this site. Also, my experience, as an RN, which would probably apply to you as well, is: s/s hypo and hyper glycemia, prisoner tells you he already had his insulin injection...what would you do? Find a man down, what would you do, boundaries with prisoners i.e. asking you to do them favors, bring items in, etc.

Specializes in Emergency Room, Hospice/Palliative Care.

Yes, know your nursing protocol=don't over think but be cautious of safety. I have interviewed for city jail nursing, and not in person with the county facilities. I will tell you that I had no few clinical questions during the interview-it was more of 'what kind of person are you". I started this process over two years ago, and was just recently offered a per diem position in the jails...after two in person interviews. Be patient. Not the way to go if you are looking for immediate work, as far as I can tell. Good luck-you will do fine. SAFETY FIRST.

\ said:

I have an upcoming interview for LVN position at a correctional facility in Ca.I would like to ask for pointerspossible interview questions and what nursing fundamentals,theories and concepts I should focus...I really want this job and I dont want to screw this up.thank you so much!

I applied to the county jail last month and was offered a job last week as a new grad LPN. I was asked what's the biggest mistake give made and how did you fix it. What are your strengths and weaknesses. Why should we hire you. That's it! Interview wasn't so bad.

Specializes in Med/surg tele, home health, travel.

I interviewed for a position as an RN at a low security in Youngstown. One part of the facility is a US Marshal Service and the other part is Federal Bureau of Prisons. It is a CCA facility and the pay is phenomenal. I interviewed for a FT and PRN position. Not only was I the first candidate to interview for the positions, but this was also my very first interview as a new graduate!

The questions asked during the interview were mainly based on inmate behaviors, and how I would react. I was asked about 12 questions by a panel of 3: HR, Nurse manager, and Clinical Manager. Here's some questions I remember:

Why did you choose corrections as a career?

Do you have experience in corrections or are you familiar with corrections?

How do you handle push-back?

During the nursing shortage, what changes would you like to see take place?

Are you familiar with electronic medical records?

What would you do if you noticed the narcotic count was short?

Name a skill you taught yourself that you didn't learn by trade or in school.

At your job has anyone asked you to bend the rules, if so what did you do?

If you noticed an inmate calling your co-worker a name or being disrespectful what would you do?

If you had a lot to do and minimal time to do it what do you do?

At the end I had the opportunity to discuss anything I wanted to about myself that wasn't already mentioned.

I am still waiting for results. One more person has to interview on 4/4/14. HR said that if chosen then I would have to go through 2 more interviews, one with an investigator, and then one more after that. I believe she said you basically go through homeland security. They really dug into my business. I received copies of everything in the mail. They know how much you paid for you house, any public files, and an extensive credit check, and background check, etc.

A 2 week academy for safety training for the job is in June. And 3 weeks of training after that (1 week one each shift). The FT position I applied for is for afternoon shift charge nurse.

I felt very confident during the interview, and I felt it went well. It took about an hour including the tour of the medical area. I took nothing in but my license and car keys. Not only did I have to go through the metal detector, but I had to also remove my shoes upon entering. I was surprised of this because I toured a supermax facility and never had to take off my shoes!

I should know something more about the position by next week. HR told me I would receive notice even if I wasn't chosen. Thank goodness for that. I am glad they at least don't leave a person waiting!

Thank you all so much for these sample nursing interview questions. I'm a new grad RN and I have an interview in two weeks and I'm a little nervous about interviewing in front of a panel. I took a tour of the facility with my mental health instructor and I loved it; the autonomy, the challenges you have to face on a daily basis and having to think "on your toes" is why I'm truly excited. I'm fully prepared with all my paperwork, I was thinking about making photocopies of all my required documents and then taking the originals just in case, does that sound like a good idea? I also have a letter of recommendation from my Mental Health instructor that has health fairs at the same prison every couple of months; should I take that in with me? I'm great with Med-Surg but it's hard for me to get out of that thinking "patient safety is first", so basically from what I see on here, if they ask an emergency scenario question, just always get a correctional officer first? I just want to be completely prepared for any question they may throw my way so I can make a good first impression. ANY advice would be helpful!!

Specializes in Forensic Psych RN.

Thank you all so much for these sample nursing interview questions. I'm a new grad RN and I have an interview in two weeks and I'm a little nervous about interviewing in front of a panel.

My experience is the panel is retired employees and they are very nice. If this is a state facility in CA, you generally have to do two interviews: the first to see if they want to employ you, the second to actually hire you. The first one is called a "QAP". If you pass that, you go on to the next interview.

I took a tour of the facility with my mental health instructor and I loved it; the autonomy, the challenges you have to face on a daily basis and having to think "on your toes" is why I'm truly excited. I'm fully prepared with all my paperwork, I was thinking about making photocopies of all my required documents and then taking the originals just in case, does that sound like a good idea?

I also have a letter of recommendation from my Mental Health instructor that has health fairs at the same prison every couple of months; should I take that in with me?

Again, if this is a state or government facility in CA, they have a very structured process. I turned those kinds of documents in with my application to the nurse recruiter at my facility even though it was not required. I figured it couldn't hurt. It's always worth a try.

I'm great with Med-Surg but it's hard for me to get out of that thinking "patient safety is first", so basically from what I see on here, if they ask an emergency scenario question, just always get a correctional officer first? I just want to be completely prepared for any question they may throw my way so I can make a good first impression. ANY advice would be helpful!!

Since this is a special kind of nursing, I would prepare for questions about why you want to work there and do that kind of nursing. Questions about how you would critically think through scenarios like a prisoner telling you they already got their insulin or didn't get their vicodin order...how would you treat that...what process would you use to clarify it? Also patient safety is important but your safety is number 1. As a nurse, it is different to think of not immediately responding to an injured or sick patient. Your thinking should always be about not going it alone, how the whole scenario looks/appears and what is your process based on that? Pull your alarm? Wait for the officers/support people to be there? What if someone fell down grabbing their chest? Are you going to immediately respond? If not, then what will you do?

Good luck. I love my job!!!

Thank you for your helpful comments. I am in Ohio and when I did my application online, I was not allowed to upload any attachments, including my resume. I will probably take it with, better to be overprepared than under. Thank you again!

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