L@@king for FLORIDA Correctional nurses

Monica RN,BSN · Aug 19, 2007

Where are the Florida corrections nurses??????????????

Monica RN,BSN · Aug 19, 2007

Specifically those from Florida Correctional facilities.....So where are my Marion County, Florida Friends???

ex1140 · Aug 30, 2007

I didn't know that the state was running the medical units. The prison I work for is located in dade county and the medical units are run by private companies. And they change over quite a bit...and when they do people don't get raises and the benefits are that great either.

PrettyPrisonNurse31 · Apr 7, 2009

hey yall,

well i work for the prisons in florida. i worked through 2 wonderful agencies who got me "cleared" at the following facilities(and what i think of them)

lake ci(clermont)-

very laid back, home of the crisis stabilization unit for the region. the don's keep changing, but the staff is pretty nice and so are the inmates and the officers.

sumter ci(bushnell)-loved the facility, very small. inmates are very nice to you, and some good lookin officers might i ad. (hey, im single and i can look)the work is easy and the staff gets along very well.

lowell ci(marion county)-

what can i say? its a womens prison. the women are very needy and emotional. its not a rare occurence to have the warden, oic or supervisor in your face because you refused to give an inmate a&d ointment(which is used as a hair dressing also). happened to me! the women there are babied and coddled. they get everything they want. they will lie on you to get what they want. there is a high turn-over, as 80% of their nurses are agency. you will pick up excellent triage skills, because it is up to you to assess(yes i said assess, call the board of nursing). you make the call and decide if they need to see the doctor or the dentist. you make the call to send that person to the er. you make the call on the admittance and discharge of the infirmary patients. its all in your hands. make sure you have Liability Insurance. oh, and they get pregnant. especially the ones on work release. jeez!! you cant deliver the babies there, you will be gate cut, so make sure you got someone on your team who has excellent ob skills. if that baby is coming, push them out to the gate on that gurney. when you see the oic and the ems, quickly get them out the gate. because the governor does not like to have lowell ci listed as a place of birth for a child(there was a professional football star born there) make of it what you will. *some cute officers too! bonus!http://www.ocala.com/article/20071025/news/210250354/1001/news01

rmc(lake butler)-this is the "hospital" prison. where we send a lot of inmates to go on to glory. a lot of them are aids/hiv or geriatric life patients. you will use a lot of skills there. its difficult, but its nice.

cfrc(orlando)-this is the reception center. you will see a lot of first-timers, bootcamp minors, new to death-row-ers....the whole nine. its very busy.

union ci-death row(raiford)-very quiet place. a little scary for a nurse new to corrections. they do not take lightly to child killers or child rapists/molesters. dont linger at the child killers cell door too long, the inmates will tell you not to waste your time there because that person killed little so and so. they live by the inmate code there, so you have to respect it, or you will not survive in that environment. when a death row inmate is 30 days or less to execution, he is then transferred down the street to..........

florida state prison(raiford)-once the inmate is there, he is given time for all his "finals" (goodbye calls, letters, visits, meal). then, they may get a stay of execution, which frequently happens. i said goodbye to an inmate and prayed for him a few days before he left union ci for fsp. he told me that he was sorry he was sorry he broke his mothers heart. so if you are emotional like me, then you may not need to work there. there is no stress however, most of the inmates are just somber and do whats asked. when you get a new young guy on the row, they often have breakdowns, and thats usually when its ok to turn on the motherly/fatherly skills. its up to you, you can either comfort him or find him hanging in his cell the next morning. chose your battles, as long as you do not breech security, then its ok to comfort.

marion ci (across the street from lowell)-

mens unit. if you dont mind seeing inmates when you are getting into your personal vehicle, then you are ok. i had an issue where an inmate walked up to me and showed me my address he had gotten from my tag(they have computers). i am sure it was a harmless thing, but i reported it to the warden, and filed it with doc so that if he tried anything. oh, a lot of the inmates are from ocala....lol...and you will run into them in walmart. you will see people you grew up with and people you know.

cypress creek juvenile offender program(citrus)-

its kids, what can i say? they will call the abuse hotline on you when you refuse to let them out of their cell so they can come to medical for a hang nail. serious talk. those little jokers are off the chain. its very scary when dcf and a uniformed officer comes in your face with why you didn't give little billybob another cough drop even tho he just had 6. the nurses there failed to evaluate a child and he died. it was before my time there, and the prison system taught me excellent triage skills, so i put them to good use there. http://www.caica.org/news%20deaths%20willie%20d%201.htm

...well thats my 2 cents, let me know if you need to know more, but i think thats enough reading for tonight.:typing :twocents:

NurseLite · Jun 3, 2009

Thanks "Pretty", you gave me a lot of insight of where my "kids" go after they are "sent down the road"! I am in Escambia County and work with our female population and you hit in on the head with the emotional, manipulative women!

tpanative · Jun 4, 2009

Hey Yall,
Well I work for the Prisons in Florida. I worked through 2 wonderful agencies who got me "cleared" at the following Facilities(and what I think of them)
Sumter CI(Bushnell)-Loved the facility, very small. Inmates are very nice to you, and some good lookin officers might I ad. (Hey, Im single and I can look)The work is easy and the staff gets along very well.

HA I drive by Sumter CI on my way to my mom's frequently. It does look like a great facility to work for. I'm seriously considering it when i'm done with nursing school. If ummm some of the prisoners look like Wentworth Miller sign me up!!

Lacie, BSN, RN · Jun 4, 2009

Whats the approximate salary range. I'm in Volusia county and job seeking. Tomoka has an opening I believe just a temp for thier Occupation Health section, therefore I imagine not involving prisoners. I also understand they do thier own dialysis now rather than contracting with Davita as they previously did. How can I found out more info? Do they use Veterans preference also?

NurseLite · Jun 4, 2009

Lacie

It all depends on if you are hired by state, county or private contract. Every county's pay scale is different. I am in Escambia, which is one of the poorest counties in Florida, so our pay scale is off! Here at our private contract company LPN's start at around $17/hr and RN's start at around $23/hr. We also get a shift differential for nights and weekends. I couldn't tell you what other facilities pay. And I am not sure about Veterans preferences. I would feel that whoever is better qualified for the job would be the fairest choice.

Lacie, BSN, RN · Jun 6, 2009

Veterans preferance is only adding points, not that you get the job above non-vets and also towards retirement etc if in the federal ranks since they see we already put in some years. Some states also utilize this towards retirement benefits. Thanks for the info.

weezyljm · Dec 28, 2009

Hi: Recently started work @ Lake CI - have prior experience at Union a number of years ago. Corrections has not changed that I can tell. Status quo vadis. I am working in MHU (mental health unit) and that is a trip. The psych's

cater to the inmates, at the direction of the CHO (Chief Health Officer - MD)... it is an okay place to work - and the pay for OPS (non-career service) for LPN's is decent. However, they do get their pound of flesh for the salary -- lots of work on 11P-7A shift. Like all other government jobs - there is politics - even on 11P-7A and the turnover is horrific because of this. They use agency regular enough that they place them on th schedule, as though they are staff. The paperwork is voluminous and extremely redundant.

The majority of the C/O's are black - and most nurses are white - so their is a racist component to deal with - which I just ignore/don't acknowledege. As per usual - C/O's "hate" medical staff - we just interfer with their job (custody/control) and cause them work...but that is par for the course. But as a general rule - the staff is friendly for the most part --- C/O's and nursing.

canadian ICU nurse · Oct 24, 2011

hi

i read your comments. i am moving bqck to florida and would like to get into correction. you said you worked for two good agencies could you give me there names so that i could contact them please.

thanks canadian icu nurse

:nurse:

http://icons.an-file.info/stethescope.png

hey yall,
well i work for the prisons in florida. i worked through 2 wonderful agencies who got me "cleared" at the following facilities(and what i think of them)
lake ci(clermont)-
very laid back, home of the crisis stabilization unit for the region. the don's keep changing, but the staff is pretty nice and so are the inmates and the officers.
sumter ci(bushnell)-loved the facility, very small. inmates are very nice to you, and some good lookin officers might i ad. (hey, im single and i can look)the work is easy and the staff gets along very well.
lowell ci(marion county)-
what can i say? its a womens prison. the women are very needy and emotional. its not a rare occurence to have the warden, oic or supervisor in your face because you refused to give an inmate a&d ointment(which is used as a hair dressing also). happened to me! the women there are babied and coddled. they get everything they want. they will lie on you to get what they want. there is a high turn-over, as 80% of their nurses are agency. you will pick up excellent triage skills, because it is up to you to assess(yes i said assess, call the board of nursing). you make the call and decide if they need to see the doctor or the dentist. you make the call to send that person to the er. you make the call on the admittance and discharge of the infirmary patients. its all in your hands. make sure you have liability insurance. oh, and they get pregnant. especially the ones on work release. jeez!! you cant deliver the babies there, you will be gate cut, so make sure you got someone on your team who has excellent ob skills. if that baby is coming, push them out to the gate on that gurney. when you see the oic and the ems, quickly get them out the gate. because the governor does not like to have lowell ci listed as a place of birth for a child(there was a professional football star born there) make of it what you will. *some cute officers too! bonus!http://www.ocala.com/article/20071025/news/210250354/1001/news01
rmc(lake butler)-this is the "hospital" prison. where we send a lot of inmates to go on to glory. a lot of them are aids/hiv or geriatric life patients. you will use a lot of skills there. its difficult, but its nice.
cfrc(orlando)-this is the reception center. you will see a lot of first-timers, bootcamp minors, new to death-row-ers....the whole nine. its very busy.
union ci-death row(raiford)-very quiet place. a little scary for a nurse new to corrections. they do not take lightly to child killers or child rapists/molesters. dont linger at the child killers cell door too long, the inmates will tell you not to waste your time there because that person killed little so and so. they live by the inmate code there, so you have to respect it, or you will not survive in that environment. when a death row inmate is 30 days or less to execution, he is then transferred down the street to..........
florida state prison(raiford)-once the inmate is there, he is given time for all his "finals" (goodbye calls, letters, visits, meal). then, they may get a stay of execution, which frequently happens. i said goodbye to an inmate and prayed for him a few days before he left union ci for fsp. he told me that he was sorry he was sorry he broke his mothers heart. so if you are emotional like me, then you may not need to work there. there is no stress however, most of the inmates are just somber and do whats asked. when you get a new young guy on the row, they often have breakdowns, and thats usually when its ok to turn on the motherly/fatherly skills. its up to you, you can either comfort him or find him hanging in his cell the next morning. chose your battles, as long as you do not breech security, then its ok to comfort.
marion ci (across the street from lowell)-
mens unit. if you dont mind seeing inmates when you are getting into your personal vehicle, then you are ok. i had an issue where an inmate walked up to me and showed me my address he had gotten from my tag(they have computers). i am sure it was a harmless thing, but i reported it to the warden, and filed it with doc so that if he tried anything. oh, a lot of the inmates are from ocala....lol...and you will run into them in walmart. you will see people you grew up with and people you know.
cypress creek juvenile offender program(citrus)-
its kids, what can i say? they will call the abuse hotline on you when you refuse to let them out of their cell so they can come to medical for a hang nail. serious talk. those little jokers are off the chain. its very scary when dcf and a uniformed officer comes in your face with why you didn't give little billybob another cough drop even tho he just had 6. the nurses there failed to evaluate a child and he died. it was before my time there, and the prison system taught me excellent triage skills, so i put them to good use there. http://www.caica.org/news%20deaths%20willie%20d%201.htm
...well thats my 2 cents, let me know if you need to know more, but i think thats enough reading for tonight.:typing