Interview @ Ca prison this Friday.Can anyone give advice for the LVN interview??

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Hi Everyone!

I am a new grad and I have been hoping to start my career in the corrections field. I feel like this would be a good fit for me. I respect rules and procedures, I have great attention to detail, I respect people and communicate well with others. I am also a strong person and I am thick skinned. With all that said, I filled out an application as soon as I found out I passed the boards and I got a letter last week requesting that I interview this Friday! :) I am so happy for the oppurtunity but I am nervous about the interview. I dont know what to expect or how to make myself stand out. How do you tell someone that this is your dream job and you really want this job without sounding unprofessional? Can anyone tell me how many questions they ask and what was the subject area. example: Diabetes, why you want to work here, ect. Thank you!:heartbeat

Hi Christine,

I m trying to get in to the prison health care system california. They interviewed me, and called me after 3 weeks that " I got approved " They did my finger print at different place last week, but till the date no response from them. I'm so confused...are they gonna hire me or another sets of interview process or screening process. Can you guide me [email protected]

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I was interested in this when I first graduated as well. I applied and applied and got a bunch of letters, but never an interview. Did you guys get hired? is it 3 12 hour shifts? I have a buddy who works for chino and he does 4 10's

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@ cawkazn..still going with paperwork..hope will start on 2' april

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are you going to get 3 12 hour shifts a week?

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Hi guys, I am starting my LVN schooling in a few months and wanted to know if the CA prisons are still hiring LVN's? I am going to do the LVN-BSN route right after, but would like to work asap

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I know our prison just hired a few more LVN's this past week, and still have a couple registry nurses working as well.

CDCR is currently going through a massive re-alignment though so who knows whats coming down the line?

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Meaning another Freeze or opening up Jobs? Sorry if its a dumb question

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Jobs as correctional nurses in CA is not what it used to be. The reallignment means less nurses because they are trying to remove posts from prisons and trying to justify staffing less by switching from it being based on population to being based on acuity. I don't forsee this hiring freeze letting up anytime soon, the reallignment consists of several layoff waves, and they are now (one wave 3 out of 9 I believe) looking at non-custody personel. Im relatively new and was told to look out for a preliminary "lay off notice" meaning that my job is up for grabs to anyone of higher seniority who would want to relocate to my area incase they get bumped from their post. I snuck into the system right before this huge crunch and I'm hoping I survive to gain some seniority because job security is not what it used to be. Not to discourage you misspinkmeow because I have read many of your posts and sense your enthusiasm for wanting to join the force, but it is becoming exponentially difficult during these times and in the forseable near future to ascertain employment with CDCR. If you want to get your LVN or CNA and work in a prison to see how it is that's great, but it wont do much for you besides give you facetime with management as far as getting in as an RN. The political and administrative structure of the state doesn't make it an easy transition from CNA to RN like in a hospital. They are different bargaining units, for one thing, between RN and axillary medical personnel (LVN/CNA). I know of LVNs who work at my institution who either hold an RN license or are sitting for RN boards soon and they dont have a "guaranteed spot." Of course it would be easier for you to go from CNA/LVN to RN simply because you would have "state time" under your belt.

All in all, one of the easiest ways to slide into the system is through registry, whether it is LVN or RN. There are many LVN registries for CA prisons but not many RN registries (they do exist though). My best advice to you is if you are looking for CA prison work, it would benefit you to adopt the mindset of being flexible. Even if it means going to pelican bay, high desert, or other "undesirable" locations until you get permanency and pass probabtion then look for lateral transfer opportunities in the facility of your choice (which may be a 3 year wait in all).

Good Luck to all of you!

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Hi 240zRN,

Thanks for answering that for me... Its sad that with all this going on right now, that I may not be able to get in. It wont stop me though.. I am determined to work for either Chowchilla, Coalinga or Corcoran (Just to name a few out here)

I do have a huge question though. Many people on here have recommended I go through a Registry like you mentioned. Who do I go through? I have no clue where to begin with that. I am starting my LVN school in Jan and in Feb/Mar 2013 I will take my CNA exam so i begin my job hunt while still in school. After i get the LVN license, I will be working towards my RN-BSN (taking pre-reqs now)

If you or anyone else on here know who/which Registry to contact for the Central Valley (Fresno/Visalia) areas please let me know.

THANKS :w00t:

Jobs as correctional nurses in CA is not what it used to be. The reallignment means less nurses because they are trying to remove posts from prisons and trying to justify staffing less by switching from it being based on population to being based on acuity. I don't forsee this hiring freeze letting up anytime soon, the reallignment consists of several layoff waves, and they are now (one wave 3 out of 9 I believe) looking at non-custody personel. Im relatively new and was told to look out for a preliminary "lay off notice" meaning that my job is up for grabs to anyone of higher seniority who would want to relocate to my area incase they get bumped from their post. I snuck into the system right before this huge crunch and I'm hoping I survive to gain some seniority because job security is not what it used to be. Not to discourage you misspinkmeow because I have read many of your posts and sense your enthusiasm for wanting to join the force, but it is becoming exponentially difficult during these times and in the forseable near future to ascertain employment with CDCR. If you want to get your LVN or CNA and work in a prison to see how it is that's great, but it wont do much for you besides give you facetime with management as far as getting in as an RN. The political and administrative structure of the state doesn't make it an easy transition from CNA to RN like in a hospital. They are different bargaining units, for one thing, between RN and axillary medical personnel (LVN/CNA). I know of LVNs who work at my institution who either hold an RN license or are sitting for RN boards soon and they dont have a "guaranteed spot." Of course it would be easier for you to go from CNA/LVN to RN simply because you would have "state time" under your belt.

All in all, one of the easiest ways to slide into the system is through registry, whether it is LVN or RN. There are many LVN registries for CA prisons but not many RN registries (they do exist though). My best advice to you is if you are looking for CA prison work, it would benefit you to adopt the mindset of being flexible. Even if it means going to pelican bay, high desert, or other "undesirable" locations until you get permanency and pass probabtion then look for lateral transfer opportunities in the facility of your choice (which may be a 3 year wait in all).

Good Luck to all of you!

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Most every county has a one-stop job resource center and a website which will list all jobs in the area as well as registry jobs. Try that first.

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