Correctional Nursing

[uscstu4lfe]

Does anyone reading this have experience/knowledge of what a Correctional Nurse does? What do you do 90% of the time? I'm thinking of something slow paced (aka low stress and easy). I looked at the waiting list for the nursing positions, and it's outrageously long. Anyone know why??

And for what it's worth, I'm interested in the state of California prison systems.

[crystalwomn]

If you are looking for slow paced and less stress correctional nursing is not for you. Corrections is an emerging field and is a high area of liability. I agree with other posters--to be successful in corrections you must have excellent assessment skills and be able to function and work independently. While you do lose some technical skills that you use in the hospital, you also must have a wide knowledge base to deal with the myriad of diseases that you will see. We care for patients with everything from multiple organ transplants to orphan diseases. In many ways jails and prisons mirror the demographics of an inner city ER. You had better know what you are doing because inmates are very litiginous. In many cases rightly so. Becoming a correctional nurse does not mean you leave your nursing standard of care at the door. The standard for corrections is the same as that in the community. For more information on corrections you can visit the website for the National Commission on Correctional Healthcare. This is one of the premier correctional organizations and they have worked to improve the level of care in our nations jails and prisons.