CORRECTIONAL LPN?

I have done corrections before the risk is not any greater than any other job... When you hear jail or prison it make everyone uncomfortable... It was actually the easiest nursing job I ever had...

I am a Correctional Lpn, the pay is a little better. The shift diff and weekend diff, makes it better. The o.t is where we make our money. I talk to nurses from the area hospitals, when they are giving us report about a returning inmate. They are are amazed that we still have o.t. here. I love it. there a forum on correctional nurses on allnurses, look under the specialty tab.

I am an RN now but did correctional as an LVN. Paid $36 an hour per diem. Did it for 2 years. It's fun at first but it really strips you of your personality and there are never ending games that the inmates play. Huge disease factor including TB, MRSA, Staph etc. Good Luck!

I wk for the V.A. now and still do some PRN wk for a state correctional facility here in FLA, corrections is easy wk and the pay is good, but you lose any skills you may have aquired, it's best to keep it as a pt. time job plus DavidB is right the inmates can be very manipulative, i've wked in corrections for 4 yrs, it takes a special person as some people can't wk behind locked doors and razor wire.

I worked 2 years as a corrections LPN. It was pretty easy money, but it actually paid less than most hospitals around here pay. Not sure why, but the company I worked for had the contract for both the county jail and the county penal farm (same county), but the jail paid about $5/hr more than the penal farm. I was at the farm.

There was plenty of overtime. The inmates didn't bother me once they knew that I wasn't taking any crap off of them. They will test you and try to get under your skin, but they'll eventually leave you alone if they figure out that you're not going to play their games. I actually had more of a problem out of the guards and administration than out of the inmates.

You will lose your skills. As an LPN, you'll most likely just be a pill-pusher. At least here, they prefer RN's to work in the clinic and LPN's to work in the med room. But, either/or can work in either area by job description. I spent a lot of time working in the clinic, and you rarely find anything that requires much more skill than a well-defined BS meter.

Having said that, working in corrections is dangerous to your license. You will work with other nurses who have developed an institutional mentality. What this means is that they have developed an "us vs. them" mentality against the inmates. Many nurses who have been in corrections for a while eventually feel that all inmates are lying all the time, and will go out of their way to prove that an inmate is lying about an illness, when in fact the inmate may be telling the truth. This will get you hung up because you will either develop this mentality, or you will work alongside a nurse in the clinic who has this mentality, and you will be the one on the witness stand in court after an inmate dies from an illness that was missed because your coworker tried their best to prove that the inmate was faking that intractable seizure. Not that I have any experience being on the witness stand, but I have fought against nurses with this mindset in corrections, and eventually left corrections because of it.

I would never go back to corrections as full-time staff. I may do it later in my career for part-time money, but never as full-time staff. Too much liability. Also, once you're in corrections, it's very difficult to get out. Future employers see corrections on your resume, and they may believe that you've already developed the institutional mindset and may not have as much compassion as other nurses. I've heard this from several DON's. It takes a lot of convincing to make them believe otherwise.

Interesting DonaldJ... I was offered a job at our county jail. I am a new LPN but have been in nursing for 17 years. Currently I work in school health and I love it. But, my husband is very ill, I have 2 children, and I am the only income. I was wanting to find something for more money, as we have lost my husband's income. I was offered the job at the jail, but I have been tossed up as to whether or not I should take it. Now you have me thinking and I don't want other "possible prospective" employers in the future to think that I have no compassion. After all, compassion is the only reason that I am still in this field...

Well, if it's a question of paying the bills, you do what you have to do. As far as the compassion issue, I don't mean to imply that every future employer is going to be hesitant about hiring you. Just be aware that it may be something that comes up and you may have to do a little convincing. However, if you've been in the field for 17 years prior to getting exposed to corrections, it may not be as much of a deal. I was under the impression that you were brand new or fairly new to the field.

If you do decide to go into corrections, just keep the institutionalism in check and be aware of the problems I brought up.

Well, if it's a question of paying the bills, you do what you have to do. As far as the compassion issue, I don't mean to imply that every future employer is going to be hesitant about hiring you. Just be aware that it may be something that comes up and you may have to do a little convincing. However, if you've been in the field for 17 years prior to getting exposed to corrections, it may not be as much of a deal. I was under the impression that you were brand new or fairly new to the field.

If you do decide to go into corrections, just keep the institutionalism in check and be aware of the problems I brought up.

Thanks for the tip DonaldJ. I have thought about it and I might go on there part time to start off with before I quit the job that I have now as a school nurse. That way if I don't like it, I can find something else. Thanks again!

Crodriques:

Yes, I am an LPN and I work in a correctional institute. I work for the State of Florida. I do make more money, than with my previous experience. I enjoy it, b/c it is a "different kind of nursing", but as with any type of job, there are risks.

BHayter, LPN

What kind of risks. I have a interview for a correctional LPN job.