Is it hard to get a RN job in the hospital after being a corrections nurse?

[Kitten403]

I'm a nursing student with one semester left, where I'm currently at the nursing jobs for new grads are few and far between. I've considered going into correctional nursing since they take new grads and figured I'd put in a couple years and stay if I like it and if I don't then I'd apply for a position in a hospital, thinking I'd have an advantage because I'd have some experience. My concern is that I hear a lot of people say that the nurses in the prisons are usually the ones the hospitals won't hire and that you lose a lot of skills, I'm worried that I'll be branded with that label if I start in corrections and will be undesirable by future hospital employers.

I'm curious if it's hard to get hired into a hospital after being a prison nurse? Any experience of your own or others that you know of that have attempted the same course would be much appreciated.

[owlyhecate]

I'm an LPN with almost a year of correction/jail nursing it's my 1st job out of school. Prisons u get i/m with basically stabalized conditions after long stents in county. Now county Jail /detention centers is an emergancy room, officer don't want to take people to the er 1st and sit for hours so u have to critical think before the cuffs come off- be like Dr House because nobody is honest about the handfull of *%$# they done when the blue lights came on. (doc is oncall prn... u have a few other nurses with u to help u out )I've had heartattacks, ods, beatings attempted sucide, sexual assualts, and the normal med surg health problems u name it PLUS all made worse 3 fold by years of drugs et etoh abuse.County has put me on my toes way more than prison. Honest i couldnt imagine doing anything else EVER. how cool is barffing-can't take an i/ms word -they have to save it any way they can so u can guess what? VERIFY !

[Kora0880, BSN, RN]

I work at a trauma center at a prison...and have been there for a short time and seen and done more trauma nursing then many in the civilian sector in the same time....we dont have the respiratory therapy, phlebotomy team, EKG techs, nurse aids, or any other help...oftentimes we dont have the MD on site either.....so u better know what you are doing......and we see some really serious injuries and conditions. In general inmate population does not represent the general civilian population. Most of these guys dont care about their health, never had access to healthcare and so we get a whole spectrum of illnesses, diseases, conditions...from STD's, other communicable conditions, to chronic diseases, to drug overdoses, stab wounds, acute psych, cancer...you name it...we are the first responders, we dont have EMT's here...by the time the abulance gets here the patient is diagnosed and fairly stabilized....sometimes with minimal resources....it all depends where you work...you can get stuck at a clinic, at an extended care facility, ER....all within the prison....find out about the place as much as you can, where the openings are and what nursing specialties they have....correctional nursing does not mean limiting your learning or loosing your skills....it all depends on the facility.....good luck

[Opera26]

I'm curious if it's hard to get hired into a hospital after being a prison nurse? Any experience of your own or others that you know of that have attempted the same course would be much appreciated.

Hi Kitten,

Many of the nurses at the prison where I work also work at the local hospital. Oh, and they do not hire new grads who have no experience where I work. Your corrections departments must be different, though.

Some people say that prison nursing is "one of the best kept secrets in nursing." I tend to agree with that. It's still a job, though. The work is hard, like every place else, and there are the different personalities to deal with, like any place else. And you still need to get up early or stay up late--just like any other nursing job.

Opera

[katkonk, BSN, RN]

I'm a nursing student with one semester left, where I'm currently at the nursing jobs for new grads are few and far between. I've considered going into correctional nursing since they take new grads and figured I'd put in a couple years and stay if I like it and if I don't then I'd apply for a position in a hospital, thinking I'd have an advantage because I'd have some experience. My concern is that I hear a lot of people say that the nurses in the prisons are usually the ones the hospitals won't hire and that you lose a lot of skills, I'm worried that I'll be branded with that label if I start in corrections and will be undesirable by future hospital employers.

I'm curious if it's hard to get hired into a hospital after being a prison nurse? Any experience of your own or others that you know of that have attempted the same course would be much appreciated.

Just a hint to the OP. It is rather bad form to post on a forum for CORRECTIONAL nurses, and say...oh, and I hear the nurses in prisons are the ones that hospitals won't hire.....????? Who did you think you were addressing with this post? If you can get in as a new grad, then go for it. However, I think you need to research some of the older posts on this site before making a decision on whether you want to go there or not. There are lengthy threads on new grads in correctional care, what the routine duties are, etc. Good luck in whatever direction you decide to take.

[Eugene09]

It is true !

[katkonk, BSN, RN]

Which skills are you talking about "losing" as a new grad? How many times have you started an IV or done wound care? Let's just give a brief overview of what we do in the correctional setting. We triage, give injections, hang IV meds, do lots of wound care, give oral meds, do insulin lines for...uh...like 40-80 people at a time, do emergency response, treat lacerations, see sick people in clinic, test people's vision, look in ears, do port-a-cath infusions.....so, exactly what "skills" are you afraid you are going to lose?

[Opera26]

There is some prejudice against nurses who work in corrections, though. When I was working on my BSN, one of my online classmates made it very plain she did not want anything to do with me because I worked in a prison. She was quite clear about it. I would have said something, but I just wanted to get the class over with and not make waves.

My classmate's personal prejudice does not extend to all hospital recruiters, I expect. As I said before, nurses at the prison where I work also work in the local hospital in our small town.

I wonder if the original poster, Kitten403 is still reading these responses. Are you finished with school now Kitten403?

As for my former classmate, I wonder if she or her family was the victim of some type of crime. That may be why she responded to me that way.

Nobody 'has' to work in a prison, but I like it. Hospitals aren't for everybody. I never did care much for working in them. To each his own!

Opera

[Opera26]

It is true !

What's true? The skills, or not being able to work in a hospital? :)

[Kitten403]

First my intent was not to offend anyone, nursing is a hard job, most of the stereotypes I've heard are from the other threads regarding correctional nursing. It sounds as though skill wise this might be an area that I would enjoy and benefit from. I know some asked if I graduated yet, I have 9 weeks left of school. As far as background I have worked as an EMT for a few years so I have some experience with assessing and stabilizing patients, in line with that my dream job is to be a trauma nurse. I want to make sure I get the opportunity and the experience that will open that door for me. I appreciate everyone advice, I'm glad to hear that job entails a lot of the skills I think would make me a good candidate for ER nursing. Thank you all again for your time.

[biblepoet]

I started working in the prison right out of school. I work in a very primitive med surg environment and no I still use most of the skills I learned in nursing school minus catheters on females. I work in a male prison as a female. We spend times problem solving no doctor around and deciding when to call the doctor. I do IM's, IV's both starting them and running them, PICC line dressing changes, PO meds, we have no respiratory so I have had to suction pts. We never know what is coming to us. I have been interviewing other places like the hospitals recently and getting the interviews from my experience here. I guess it will eventually lead to a hospital job, but I think the experience in here is lots better than a nursing home. Although we do get more than our share of mental health pts. Hope this help.

[Bolacha]

The question is not offensive to me. I have interviewed with hiring managers who respected my correctional experience and with others who id not conceal their doubts about me, a prison nurse. Made me wonder why they even scheduled an interview.