Common Correctional Nursing Interview Questions

Specialties Correctional Nursing Q/A

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!

Specializes in Correctional Nursing.

This thread has been so helpful...and I just stumbled upon it today... My interview tomorrow is for a new grad LPN position... any tips specific to LPNs? Thanks so much!

I am a new grad and it has been really hard trying to find a job and I just had an interview for a county jail today and she was saying if I get selected for the second round of interviews I will have more situational questions such as what would I do if a person was brought in from a bar fight, what kind of assessments? and also what kind of patient teaching for diabetes and so forth. She also said I would have to take a polygraph test including some of the questions she had already asked. Can a job really make you take one? I'm just worried false lies will show because I am always nervous, any suggestions?

Specializes in Forensic Psych RN.

Lorry....I am very grateful to you for this thread. I went on my DMH interview at a local facility in CA, and I believe I did very well for a new grad. Before the interview, I sifted out all the questions that have been posted in this thread and added some info from your blog. I researched the answers and put them in a concise format for study purposes. I wasn't surprised by ANY of the questions I was asked. Some of them were very basic like explain the nursing process, but I did a better job than I would have because I used examples from your thread to give my explanation some form of reality (used abdominal pain ... and how the assessment could mean different things for different quads). Being able to answer the questions with confidence made me more relaxed for the next question. Corrections situations are different than the therapeutic environment of acute or sub-acute care. Thanks for the help!

Hi everyone! i have been reading this thread and I am going to practice some questions and review answers. I am a new nurse and my first interview is at the state prison. I have applied at every hospital. I am soooo nervous! I am nervous about not knowing an answer to a question but I am also nervous because I am pregnant and due in 3 weeks...I hope they don't look down on me for it! Any other tips for my interview? I applied two weeks ago and got the call yesterday, interview is tomorrow!

Thanks so much!

Derme2000: Thank you so much for your kind words. I am so excited for you! You did a wonderful job of preparing and it made all the difference. Although this thread and correctionalnurse.net helped, you did the heavy lifting and prepared well for the interview. I hope you get the job and keep us all posted on your orientation and the new things you are learning.

Also, if you have ideas for posts on my blog, be sure to comment or send me a message (email is in the 'about' section.

Specializes in substance abuse, psych, LTC, corrections.

They asked me if I could work every other weekend!! (ha ha) :jester:

Specializes in Correctional Nursing.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and tips--I landed the job! :yeah:

Congrats on getting the new job! Keep us posted on how you are doing.....:yeah:

I am having trouble answering these " what would you do" questions since I have no experience working in a prison. One question I had was, you have a diaphoretic inmate, B/P 90/50, R 8, blood sugar 80. They want to know what I think it is and what would I do. I just need to know protocols of dealing with inmates. This is for LVN in Ca prison. Any help would be appreciated.

First thing, notify the C.O. the inmate is HIS responsibility, then move him into the clinic for a workup for an O.D. I.V.,Blood sugar for accuracy , Call the MD on duty

first apply oxygen!!! what is HR and 02 sat? i agree with exploring OD

i would give i/m benefit of the doubt and redraw. ive seen an i/m drop because he was given regular instead of lantus (not by me). if he still refuses i would fill out and have im sign refusal form. if i was lvn i would notify rn or dr of refusal.

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