Correctional Facility-Lancaster, CA

[KulRN]

Hello,

I just want to get some input form anybody here who works at the Correctional Facility in Lancaster, CA (Los Angeles County). I have been invited for an interview to work as an RN. I have never worked in a setting like this. I have 21/2 years of Med-Surg experience. I have few questions:

1) What is it like to work in a correctional facility? ( In my hospital, we see 1-2 inmates and they have 1 or 2 security guards with them and they go in with you everytime you see the patient/inmate)

2) What is the nurse-patient ratio like? (how many of these inmates do you see)

3) What are the hours of working like? ( I like the 3-12's that I have right now and would like to stick to it...day shift)

4) What type of illnessess do you normally see?

5) How do you normally start and end the day?

6) Is there a lot of paperwork involve (like charting)?

7) What do they normally ask you during interview?

I really appreciate all you guys' input on these. I have mixed feelings. The pay is really good and tempting, but I am more after my security and afraid that I may be exposed to so much diseases (HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Hepa....)

thanks again!

[Sheri257]

I could answer all of these questions but, this is, IMO, what you really need to know ...

With these great pay raises, CDCR now has dozens of applicants for every opening (unless the facility is out in the sticks with few applicants) so ... it's not like a regular hospital where you can pretty much dictate where you work and when.

If you have a lot of concerns about safety, catching diseases, the working hours or whatever ... I wouldn't express those concerns during the interview because there's literally dozens of other applicants that they can hire instead.

I have friends who have not been able to get hired who have actually moved and took CDCR jobs out in the middle of nowhere because ... that's how difficult it is to get hired these days.

What they really want is people who aren't going to be any trouble ... so, obviously, they like corrections experience because that means you can handle dealing with inmates. They also like mental health experience because we deal with a ton of mental health issues on a daily basis. And, also, critical care/ER experience ... if they're hiring for those positions.

We don't actually have major critical care facilities but, triaging is a big part of what we do ... a big part of the job is figuring out who's faking and who's not ... essentially, who really needs to see the doctor right away and who really needs to go to the hospital because you get tons inmates who claim emergencies on a daily basis and, under the court order, you have to check them all out.

The bottom line is that the managers don't want the hassles of staff making demands for this shift, this position or whatever. They need to staff and they need people who will help them staff without complaint. The supervisors hate it when staff demands this or that ... not just because it's a hassle and makes their job difficult but because it interferes with the court order.

They figure they're paying us a lot of money (and they are) so ... there's little tolerance for primma donnas ... for lack of a better term. If you're ambilvalent about working in a prison at all, and that comes through in the interview ... that will really hurt you.

We had an RN who decided she only wanted the money and didn't want to work with inmates which, of course, was absurd and ... she's now gone.

[suecdnp2b]

Good luck w the interview! You're right the pay and benies are pretty good now and universal precautions works great in corrections just like it does in any hospital or clinic setting where we truly don't know everything about our patients. Re the 12 hour day shift that is a good question for the interview but keep an open mind if you have a bit of flexibility it might pay off in the long run...

[TrudyRN]

Is it run by state or by LA County?

[guerrierdelion]

Is it run by state or by LA County?

CDCR stands for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

California State Prison-Los Angeles County is the first and only state prison located in Los Angeles County.

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Visitors/fac_prison_LAC.html

Here is the link for ALL of the:thankya: Adult and Youth institutions in the State of California:

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Visitors/docs/cdcr%20map%203-07.pdf

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Visitors/docs/facility_map.pdf

[jjrn76]

having worked in Michigans prison system 22.5 years, it has become safer.As far as TB , have you ever attened a crowded ,closed in stuffy church during the flu season?Universal precau!!! Disease process',much more accellerated, d/t a multitude of reasons.Certainally it pays more, in Mich. my first taught lesson:security, keeping the inmates locked up. It has been rewarding, but tune up on your assessment skills

[suecdnp2b]

Re going to church I told my mom I couldn't go during flu season, that whole hand shake peace thing, and sure enough next time I was there the priest lectured us on that very topic and ended up saying "where is your faith? If you do get deathly ill and die from going to church you will get to Heaven!" good grief.