Has anyone worked at a detention center?

[rose red RN]

I was thinking of working at a detention center but wanted to hear from anyone who had experience working in that environment. Any input will be greatly appreciated!

[BabyRN2Be]

Michelle,

Under Nursing Specialties, there's a forum for Correctional Nursing. You may want to post there. I'm sure you'll get a lot of information about working in correctional centers.

Best of luck to you!

[a21chdchic]

I have worked in a level IV (male population) correctional facility. (The bad boys) This was a position that I learned alot in.

#1 Don't bend over, besides being poor body mechanics, if you drop something, bend your knees, to lower yourself to the ground and pick up the item. I'll leave the rest of that scenario to your imagination. You will no longer be naive.

#2 Every one of them talk sh**, and they are full of it. They are there because they are cons, and they will con you too, if you give them the chance. So, I learned how to maintain a professional distance (which takes on a definition of itself) while providing personal cares, and provide cares only when they can't perform the cares themselves. And they are frequently in sick call, just to see females.

#3 The majority of the population is 'psych related', so if you have no interest in psych, I don't suggest you even try correctional nursing.

#4 If you think the adults are morons, difficult to deal with, etc, Let me tell you, they are a peice of cake compared to the juvies. They are the most obnoxious humans I have ever come in contact with.

#5 Just because they are in a correctional facility doesn't mean they have no rights, they have almost as many rights as you or I. Ex. If they get bored, and you pi** them off, they can and alot of times will, pipe dream a reason to sue you in a court of law. They can even win a law suit over something that never even happened.

#6 You had better be a very strong woman (emotionally) to work in a c. facility. These people are extremely sensitive to vulnerability in others, especially women, and they will prey on vulnerability at every turn. I have seen several nurses lose not only their jobs, licenses, but also a decent life as a result of falling for the sh** that cons come up with. They are a trap.

#7 If you're thinking about a facility with a female population - females are brutal in their own rites. They give new meaning to the work brutal.

#8 I have seen many decent people shamed by the deeds of bored offenders in accusations that both cost them their jobs and their families.

So, if you go into correctional nursing, learn to take care of yourself, take every self defense class that is offered to nursing personnel, and never ever underestimate the capabilities of another. You may think, well they can't be that smart if they ended up in jail. But everyone makes mistakes, they just happened to caught in at least 1 of them.

I do apologize if this post offends anyone, but if you want to go into this area of nursing, you have to be REAL.