New Grad In Corrrections? good/bad idea?

Specialties Correctional

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Hi, I am a new RN grad with no nursing experience who is considering corrections. Is it a good/bad idea to start in corrections? any advice?

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Specializes in Case Management, Corrections, Home Care.

Don't do it. Go get some hospital experience, i.e. med. surg. work three years+ then try corrections. Trust me on this. I don't doubt you are smart just not experienced. There is too much independent decision making required of the nurse RN. And, management doesn't like to support the nurses they really depend on you to know what you are doing and be /feel confident doing it. Definitely a specialty. I love it. Good luck in whatever you do. :)

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HI,

I also think you need experience first.

Where I worked,a Physciian was only there on day shift,that leaves the RN on the other shifts to make independent decisions.

Although you receive a lot of instruction in nursing school,experience will teach you how to apply that knowledge and improve your skills.

Tried corrections,did not like it.

Good luck! :typing

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Corrections.

I agree totally that you need experience working some med/surg or even ER for a while. You need some time under your belt before you start because you are without a doctor quite a while and while you have nursing protocols, you need some experience before you do things on your own. In our department we never hired nurses until they had at least one year of experience before they applied. Now with the shortage, we take new grads and you can really tell that they haven't had a lot of experience. Find a nice job at a hospital at first and then keep looking for a job in corrections, they come up every once in a while and you will like it a lot better.

Sonya

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Specializes in Family Practice.

a-205

I would not discourage it.

Corrections is a rough environment. If you don't know your stuff, the inmates will immediately pick up on it and make your life miserable.

If you make bad decisions, your co-workers and the administration will not be happy, therefore making your life miserable.

We had a new graduate recently who was quite successful. You need to 1) be mature, 2) willing to learn, and 3) have EXCELLENT teachers in the prison.

Only #3 you will may not be able to control.

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Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.

I would think it would be easier for you after you have been a nurse for a while. At night you are on your own and you have to make decisions without back up. At the woman's prison where I worked, it was a real problem for the night shift. Some of the women were pregnant and the nurses had no back up. They did not have enough experience with labor and delivery and were not good at assessing the status of the pt who was going into labor. Don't count on the physician or RNP on call to help you. We had one incident where EMS was called to late for a woman in labor and her baby died. The nurses was not able to get back up by phone and called EMS too late.

Also, you have to be prepared for manipulation. The inmates are well versed in how to manipulate the staff and you won't even see it coming. Get some experience first and in my opinion the ED would be the best place. Go to the largest county hospital you can find. The patients who come in there are the same ones you will be taking care of in prison.

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Specializes in a little of everthing.

Corrections is not the best for a new grad. Before corrections, you should work med/surg for 2 years and ER one year.

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Specializes in critical care, med surg, correctional.

Definetly not a good idea. First you are cheating yourself out of learning all the basics of nursing, in a "real" setting. Working is nothing like going through the motions of clinical, while obtaining your degree. Without the basics, your decision making will be weak. Plus, there are so many things to learn after school, and you will not have the opportunity to learn a lot while in corrections...Get your basic nursing background, work in med surg, possibly ICU, for a few years, then if you still are considering Correctional Nursing, then investigate. In my experience in Corrections, a lot of your decisions, are made using your past experiences in medical situations, as well as your nursing knowledge....Don't make rash decisions, when it comes to your career, one wrong decision, can ruin it!!

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Specializes in ER- Correctional.

I have to say I agree , you should have some hospital experience, before you decide to go into correctional nursing. You will have to have extremely good skills at triage, assessment, emergency nursing, as well as dealing with people who are manipulative, & who do not tell the truth all the time. Trust me , as I work with a nurse who has only had Nursing Home Experience,(& can't seem to acquire these important skills) your co-workers will get tired of holding your hand(so to speak) after a while & will let you drown.

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Specializes in Mental Health.

I lived in Sacramento. I'm a new grad. Graduated this past May. Couldn't get a new grad job in the hospital anywhere in Sac or near by. So I got a job at Coalinga State Hospital. I would of liked to get a job in Med Surg but couldn't it. I needed to work so I took the job and move to Coalinga.

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ya new grad too(may), i took the summer off, took my boards in august and started at western new mexico correctional facility on aug 19. i didnt care for the local hospital, nasty attitudes all around and they acted liked they owned us already, and on top of all that i would have taken a pay cut in comparison to my job i had. so corrections was a no brainer for me, granted it is nothing like the hospital, but man i have learned a ton. i work in the clinic, kinda ERish/urgent care/ chronic care. i feel my assessment skillz have greatly improved, i do blood draws all day, i deal with wound care, diabetic ulcers, heart attacks seizures, warts, mrsa, you name.. I do work with a good staff though. we have a PA who is a great resource, and its nice because they trust my judgement because im not affraid to ask questions if i dont know.

i love that classic term you should work med surg 2yrs:banghead:, i can see the benefits of it but no matter where you go, you have to have good assessment skillz and now your stuff. and youll always see something new no matter where your at. be willing to learn, try not to cut corners document everything and go work in the prison, if u dont know something read up on it or ask. and if its the extra $:twocents: u want go get it. its your life you chose what is best for you!!!

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I'm a new grad considering corrections also. Not my first choice and would love to take the advice of the experienced nurses of going into the hospital and doing med surg or ER but, I find the jobs are not there for new grads right now. I'm in the PA/DE/NJ region and keep getting turned down left to right because of lack of experience. I don't know how to gain experience if I can't even get my foot in the door.

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