Correctional nursing does it take a toll

[Butterflybee]

Does being in a negative environment on a daily basis take its toll on you? Do you find yourself changing in the long term? I know many correction officers who its affected. I realize they are actually in with the population but how does it affect you personally as a nurse there?

[RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN]

It's an environment that you either lover or hate. I do it 2 days a week only for extra money and it has not affected me in any way other than learned you cannot trust anyone!

Good luck

[Butterflybee]

Is that a weekend thing or can you pick which 2 days you worked and was that your original agreement. Im wondering about how it or does it affect someone in the long term.

[RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN]

Is that a weekend thing or can you pick which 2 days you worked and was that your original agreement. Im wondering about how it or does it affect someone in the long term.

I do sick call a day and the other a full shift 7p-7a.

[aknurs]

I've worked in Corrections for 10 years now. Has it change me? Yes...I am more aware of the people around me,inside as well as, outside of the work area, than I was before. When my "B.S. alarm goes off, I have become more accurate, in & outside of my work, of manipulation. I have become a more aggressive person,also, but I am not sure that I am a product of my work environment, or because of the state that I live in. (That has yet to be determined).

The qualities that have survived....I still treat my patients, as I would want to be treated, & as I would hope ,that a Nurse would treat a family member of mine, should they ever become incarcerated.

[mimid213]

Of course correctional nursing takes a toll, but so does every other area in nursing. Look, let's face it, nursing is not for the faint of heart. If you haven't learned that you can't trust anyone BEFORE you enter corrections, you are still wet behind the ears!! Correctional nursing is different. You need skills that you can't learn from books and that is intuitively dealing with people. I've seen many nurses new to corrections acting like Flo Nightingale out to save the world. Although you need to provide the best care you can, you don't need to see your patients as they are lost little puppies, you just need to be one or two steps ahead of them!!! Anyone know anyone who needs a great correctional nurse??? :heartbeat

[aknurs]

The inmates where I work don't think I'm Flo.Nightingale...Some of my co-workers call me Nurse Nasty, but what do they know:) Corrections has actually made me Paranoid,I am always looking, behind my back.There are plenty of Officers , but you always have to look out for yourself, especially if the officers are "new" to corrections...

Most of the inmates like me /some do not...But I am not there to be their friend. I am there to be their nurse.

Of course I do work in an exceptional place.:loveya:..if it wasn't labeled a Prison, it could be a resort...(It's a matter of perception)

[Truegem]

I think what happens is, when you first start working in corrections, you realize that these crimes happen a lot more than you realized before. I work and live in a county that is known for its prosperity, beautiful neighborhoods, green lawns, etc. and then I come to realize there is a whole society of lowlife, drug addicted, icky people and that there sure is a lot of killing and pedophilia going on out there in what I thought was a wonderful county. But after 14 years, I have come to accept this fact. It's sad, though.

[lauradrizzt]

I have worked in corrections going on thirteen years. I have worked with maximum security, death row, all the other classifications, and juvenile. I have dealt with people who have committed such heinous acts it would make you wonder if you could perform CPR on them if need be. I have worked with some inmates who truly inspire. I have never been naiive, nor easily manipulated, so I don't feel changed. But, it nags at me to see nurses who deal with the crap from some of these guys so long that they genuinely don't care to do a good job anymore. I might not want to do CPR for a pedophile killer, but I most certainly will. I haven't become anything but more assertive if anything. I was called the 'mean' nurse for years as well, but I haven't had an inmate file a grievance or say that I was not more than fair in my dealings in about ten years, so I guess I am doing okay.

[Quiskeya]

I guess it depends. I love correctional nursing, I haven't been one for a long time but I still enjoy what I do. Where I work, some of the inmates are not treated the best way, maybe because the staff is aware of what they have done or maybe because after a while some of them (staff) get desensitized.:angryfire In my case, I am not there to change their lifes and make them productive citizens, but I am there to treat their medical issues and to treat them with respect. When I am giving care, I do not see them as murderers or rapists or whatever they are, I see them as patients and I have the duty of making them better within my scope of practice. Since this was one of my first jobs after graduating nursing school, I was shocked at how the nurse-patient relationship was, nurses there do not sweet talk and a lot of times they are not even thorough with a assessment:nono:, they just take a couple of minutes with a patient and they are done. In my case, I like to address the issue, if they are in distress, I try to use my comon sense and nursing judgement to find out exactly what's going on. It is true that some of the inmates would fake some type of pain to get some narcs, in the other hand I don't want to deny someone some pain reliever if they really need it, I assess them and based on my findings and their previous history I medicate them, or not. (yes, I can start certain medications for several health issues if I need to, it's kind of like the doc has pre-approved them, I order them, she signs off on it later)I would not say to them what some of my coworkers usually say: "This is jail, not the Hilton":down: I guess what I am trying to say with this long answer is, I treat them the same way I would like to be treated if I was in their shoes. Correctional nursing it's not for everybody, and I am blessed enough to be part of this exciting branch of nursing.