Desk job or Prison job? Help!

lindarn · Jul 18, 2011

Hi,
I interviewed with a correctional place...light sentencing...not hard core inmates. I was told that a quirk needed to be ironed out so I wasnt offered the job. Another company called me and offered me the job after a phone interview. The company does HEDIS review type jobs(going into DR office and hospitals and making sure claims match diseases in the chart). My husband thinks that the desk job is the way to go at $27/hr and mileage.
Meanwhile, the corrections called back today and said they could make the job offer....still don't know the amt...Im guessing similart.
So, I used to be a school nurse but feel like I need to get back into a clinical setting and the prison job is less acute than the hospital to get my feet wet. However, I have been told that I am too pretty to work in a prison and will never hear the end of it and will be bothered constant and it will get tough for me. I have also heard good things about working in the prison system.
I can't do both jobs because Im in school. The paper job is way less stress and intermittant. The jail job is shift work but lots of interesting diseases but lots of drugs and drunks to deal with as well. I feel like I am getting too far away clinically and want to move back into the clinical world.
The paper/desk job would be the easy way out. Im afraid I will regrett it later for I wont be using assessment skills or be doing any patient care.
Please advise me!!! Thankyou!!!

The HEDIS reviews are not a permanent job. They are temporary positions. I would take the job in the jail. It is probably a state job. With all the state benefits. JMHO and my NY $0.02.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Somewhere in the PACNW

handyrn · Jul 18, 2011

Sounds to me like you have already made up your mind that you want the prison job and are just looking for validation. If it's what you want then go for it.

"However, I have been told that I am too pretty to work in a prison and will never hear the end of it and will be bothered constant and it will get tough for me."

If you ask me (which you didn't), this is a bunch of crap! First of all, you would probably never be alone with an inmate. There are guards/security officers that should always be present when you are with an inmate. Second of all, you get what you put up with. Frateranizing (sp?) with the inmates is not/should not be acceptable in the first place. You go in, do your job, get out. Ignore any comments that are made and pretty soon the comments will quit. Also, if you are that worried about this kind of thing, there are things you can do to reduce your "prettiness." Don't wear make-up, don't spend hours fixing your hair, don't wear form fitting scrubs, etc. This is just a ridiculous, non-issue. However, if you think that you can't handle any comments that inmates might make, then the job is probably not for you.

dtrmnd · Jul 18, 2011

This is my first comment here (Hi, Everyone!), so feel free to take it on a lighter note. I am new to this universe and have SO much to learn as a hopeful pre-nursing student - but just as a person there were things that struck out at me in your post.

You mention your husband thinks you should do the desk job. While I would also solicit my husband's advice, you need to do what YOU think is the right thing.

As a school nurse you felt you wanted to be in more of a clinical setting --- do you think the desk job is going to be different? Your last few sentences to me sound as if you already know what you want to do and you just need reassurance. It seems like you want to take the job in the prison system and you already know you would be unhappy behind a desk. I wouldn't be worried about being too pretty. Go the "plain jane" route - not wear make-up, do your hair, etc.. Besides, no matter where you go you will be subject to comments, advances and all the rest. Best to build a thick skin to it now.

You know you don't have to stay at either job forever, and they can be stepping stones for you. If you already feel like the desk job is a step BACK from where you want to be, I suspect it wouldn't be long before your regretted that choice. I think you should make the best choice for your long term goal.

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Jul 18, 2011

Is the "desk" job Medassurant? Sounds like it. If so,plz read the posts here regarding that "postition".

Feel free to PM me for more info. :smokin:

NJprisonrn · Jul 18, 2011

i work in a medium security prison. i am reasonably attractive and have had no problems with that. i have been told that i smile too much and i notice that the inmates will try to take advantage by asking for extra things like drugs that they don't have an order for. but you just say "sorry, that's against the rules." you'll get more clinical experience in corrections, that’s for sure.

to clarify something, there are officers present or within ear's reach all the time. however, i have been alone with inmates more times that i can count. it was weird at first but i feel safe. the nurses are treated with respect, for the most part.

[color=#5f497a]

MissJoanna__ · Jul 18, 2011

I have to agree that I think you have already made up your mind, and are just looking for validation.

From my experience with prisons, you shouldn't have a problem. Yes, there may be an inmate every so often maybe make a comment, but that's where your professionalism comes in, and you handle the situation appropriately. There should also be a CO present whenever you work with an inmate, so there really shouldn't be a problem.

In the end, its up to you and what you feel is best for YOU

Ruthfarmer · Jul 18, 2011

Experience will vary by facility. Not all prisons are the same. They are not managed the same. Yet there is a certain subculture specific to most prisons. This can be unpleasant and uncomfortable for nurses who have lived a sheltered life. Personally, prison nursing would NOT be my first choice.

Good money and no shift work would be very attractive to me. Whatever you choose, you are NOT locked into. If you try something and it doesn't work out or proves to be an untenable situation, then you can always quit and remove yourself from the situation.

Psychtrish39, BSN, RN · Jul 18, 2011

Being pretty has nothing to do with how inmates behave to you in corrections . They can be verbally abusive whether a nurse is pretty or not. Most are in there to do their time and get out. I did a short bout of correctional nursing and I can't say the inmates ever acted out of line past being verbal abusive if they didnt get some medical procedure or medication done they wanted. However, that being said some of the correctional officers did hit on us nurses including me and I didnt like that. I later left the job due to state job cuts and the attitude and that particular prison.

Correctional nursing is not easy . There are medical emergencies and psychiatric issues you have to deal with as well as learning the routines of how a prison runs. Hope this helps.

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Jul 18, 2011

Sounds to me like you have already made up your mind that you want the prison job and are just looking for validation. If it's what you want then go for it.
"However, I have been told that I am too pretty to work in a prison and will never hear the end of it and will be bothered constant and it will get tough for me."
If you ask me (which you didn't), this is a bunch of crap! First of all, you would probably never be alone with an inmate. There are guards/security officers that should always be present when you are with an inmate. Second of all, you get what you put up with. Frateranizing (sp?) with the inmates is not/should not be acceptable in the first place. You go in, do your job, get out. Ignore any comments that are made and pretty soon the comments will quit. Also, if you are that worried about this kind of thing, there are things you can do to reduce your "prettiness." Don't wear make-up, don't spend hours fixing your hair, don't wear form fitting scrubs, etc. This is just a ridiculous, non-issue. However, if you think that you can't handle any comments that inmates might make, then the job is probably not for you.

I kind of disagree with your points about reducing being pretty. Newsflash, some people are pretty just simply because they are and without makeup and hours of hair styling. :uhoh3:

Inmates are going to hit on you whether you are pretty or ugly ! It is a issue for some nurses. I have been told the same thing when I wanted to work in a jail and honestly it is not for me because I know the comments would get to me eventually. Not only do they comment but the gestures and other sorts of things. Plus my boyfriend wouldn't let me do this kind of job in a trillion years. lol.

Anyway, I digress.

To the OP, if your heart is set on the corrections job, go for it. You should also search in the correction forum. As long as the comments and gestures don't bother you , you should be fine. :clown:

stefanyjoy · Jul 18, 2011

I honestly think at a minimum security place you probably would receive more harassment from kids than the inmates :)

Sounds like you are using this job as a stepping stone, and want to gain back some clinical skills, I would think the corrections would be the right path.

Anisettes, BSN, RN · Jul 18, 2011

I've worked corrections before and looks have little to nothing to do with inmate interaction. You interact with them at the window for pill calls, you will do some minor triaging (as there usually isn't an MD there full time) when inmates put in a 'kite' which is a request for evaluation/treatment, you do med passes on closed pods (new intakes or death row).

Guards are always either with you or nearby, though for kite evals you're usually alone in the exam room unless the patient is considered dangerous - but you aren't going to that type of prison, so not likely to be an issue. You may also have inmates kept overnight for medical observation in the infirmary cells.

Believe me, looks have nothing to do with the way you are treated. You may get manipulative requests - like "Please don't pepper the ice" when asking for ice for a sprained ankle - but protocol where I worked was that any ice passed out for medical use had to have a handful of black pepper thrown into it to make it inedible - ice was a privilege not allowed (they could put it in their kool-aid or used for barter), but once they see they can't get you to break protocol, they're generally cooperative as hell.

Prison nursing can be rewarding in its own way. Go for it if you feel pulled at all. Nobody says you have to make it a career. The experience can be invaluable.