corrections is fantastic!!!

Published

Hi, I would like to comment on being in corrections as an RN. I currently work at a maximum security prison, and find the position interesting, demanding, at times chaotic, and incredibly challenging. If you are looking for an easy job, this is not it...however if you are looking for a position which will at times challenge your creativity (at times we run out of even the most basic medical supplies to provide even very basic nursing care)test your patience (inmates are without doubt an incredibly difficult population to serve) and test your ability to nurse as you were taught within the constraints of an extraordinarily restrictive environment, THIS IS THE PLACE!!! My fellow nurses that I have the good fortune to work with are a team of some of the most dedicated men and women I have ever met...not to say there are not some bad seeds..but these people get weeded out over time through natural attrition, or sometimes happenstance. I think that goes for every profession, however. DONT GIVE UP ON CORRECTIONAL NURSING AS A PROFESSION!!! It is NOT simply a place where crappy nurses look towards who are unemployable elsewhere...or are looking for an easy ride!! We work hard, and are as dedicated as a nurse in the ER or ICU!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

hi-thanks for sharing! I have NO idea what kind of nursing I want to do, but find this field very interesting.

I feel kind of stupid asking...but are you a female or male nurse? Do you work in a men's or women's prison?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER- Correctional.

I love it also. You get to practice your Assessment skills, your Trauma Nursing skills,Legalities of Nursing,Your Psyche skills,Teaching skills, and being able to adapt and overcome when you run out of supplies... ie: if you take apart an air cast ankle splint, you can use it to splint a wrist, if you run out of wrist splints..

Never knowing what will darken your medical doorstep, is almost like working in an ER., except you have a contained clientele..

Did I mention Prison is a nice place to be, then you get to go home.:wink2:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Oncology, Corrections.

Yeah, isn't it fun? I have been doing this for 14 years and I feel this is where I belong. There's always something unexpected around the corner. But for some reason you're ready for it. I think it's because we develop such good assessment skills. I have learned more working here than any other place I've worked. =)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi..just responding to the inquiry re: my place of employment..I work in an all-male, maximum security prison. I am a female. It is very heartening to hear other correctional medical professionals singing the praises of the forum they have opted to practice nursing in...ROCK ON!!! It takes a unique person with a strong sense of self to thrive in such a difficult environment, with obstacles inherent only to corrections..Best of luck to all of you!!! :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency, Case Management, Informatics.

I just started working in the county correctional facility a couple weeks ago. It was a very rough first couple of days -- I'm usually not claustrophobic, but I was definitely getting cabin fever. After getting over the initial culture shock, I'm finding myself liking it more every day.

I took the position because, unfortunately, opportunities for LPN's in my area are dwindling. I refuse to go back to LTC, and was losing my skills working in other areas. In the correctional setting, I'm kind of getting exposed to just about any and all aspects of nursing care (emergency, med/surg, chronic care, psych, etc), with few exceptions.

This is also one of the very few areas of nursing where you can actually sit down and do some patient teaching instead of mindless pill-passing and charting. For some of these folks, the medical care they receive in the institution is the only medical care they've had for years, so it's really an eye-opening experience.

If you can look past the booking number and get over the institutionalized mindset, and see your patient as someone who genuinely needs help, it's a great place to be. Yes, they will manipulate and connive and try to get over on you, but in my experience that's no different than a lot of the patients I've dealt with in other specialties.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

what do you all find the most rewarding part of your job?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

what i do love about corrections is that you have a schedule and you work it. not like in the hospital, if cenus is down, you're called off. there is no cleaning up poop, the orderly's does that, no family members, no doctors, and very few attitude to deal with. most inmates are happy to recieve some kind of medical care. what i love :redbeathemost about my job, getting done with my shift and knowing nobody died.:yeah:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I wonder if folks here would be happy to post where they work when they post. I am looking into this field and would like to know where to steer clear.

Also, what qualities do they look for when hiring. I am a new grad so my experience will be limited. I am in Northern Cal and would like to stay here, but open. Pls advise

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Step Down/ Rehab, Psych & Correctional.

Yes...thank you!

I'm also get the same comments from others or "silence"...

There are some bad seeds as you said...as with any place...

Also- no matter where I have worked there always has to be some unpleasant bossy staff member to ruin the working environment...or act unprofessionally...

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.
This is also one of the very few areas of nursing where you can actually sit down and do some patient teaching instead of mindless pill-passing and charting. For some of these folks, the medical care they receive in the institution is the only medical care they've had for years, so it's really an eye-opening experience.

This is an important point, and one that many people miss. Many of the inmates we get have had little or no medical care prior to incarceration, and little or no education in health, medication or disease processes. Many of them are also poorly educated. If they did get an explanation it probably wasn't on their level of understanding. I get asked very basic questions almost every day, and I patiently answer them in terms the inmate can understand.

One thing I find very rewarding is when an inmate tells me that our discussion was the first time that something was explained in understandable terms. A lot of inmates were outcasts long before they became convicted felons, and I'm sure they didn't have a lot of time spent with them regarding medical matters.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thanks for the info everyone. I work in LTC and very bored. Have to stay over 2 hours after the shift is done. Then it's start all over again. I'm getting some applications into the corrections department here. I'm just waiting to get called back. If they do I will definitly go to it. I work with some of the most miserable bad seeds in LTC. Yes, there all over. But I like to work and be challenged as well. You all are great people.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion