LVN in California state prison

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Specializes in Corrections.

Was thinking about trying out corrections in california. Im a 36yo male LVN with 1 year experience urgent care. What kind of duties would I be responsible for? hows the pay, hours like? what does the interview consist of? should I stay away from any particular prisons?

Thanks in advance

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Just wanted to warn you that the employment background check can be brutal. A friend of mine applied many years ago and did not get past the background check because of his military disciplinary record. He talked to me about it. His problems in the military were just plain stupid. Can you believe the State of CA did not think a person with an otherwise clean record, was not eligible for employment in the prison system, because on one occasion an officer accused him of failing to salute when the sailor stated he did not see the officer? If everyone is banned from working in the prison system for "offenses" such as this, it is no wonder why they have problems getting enough employees.

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Specializes in Prison/Jail, Med/Surg, Ortho, Juv Psych.

i don't know about california prisons, but in nj where i worked in prisons the pay was good; work was less physically demanding than a hospital.

lpns where i worked mostly did medication call and treatments and simple triaging of illness and injuries.

one word of advice is go there to do a job, don't socialize with inmates at all. i've seen too many nurses be stupid and get involved believe it or not!

you treat them like humans, care for them the best you can, but they don't get the niceties like a patient on the outside. you don't worry about why they are in prison; it's not your concern. you just need to worry about caring for them. if you know what they did, you might be negatively affected and it could affect your treatment of them which is not fair. i worked in a county jail where all the nurses had no prison experience and i did. they always wanted to know what they were in for; i did not and tried to explain it to them, but they didn't get it.

you are there to do a job, not judge them; they've already been judged and sentenced. care for their medical needs.

i've seen many nurses (we called them 'social workers') who are always on the poor baby kick...let them not follow rules and procedures for sick call, etc.

there are rules, they follow them, it's simple.

they're not your friends; they are your patients.

you need to learn to adapt to working with inmates and in potentially dangerous situations.

listen to the officers; be quick and thorough, use your skills, don't necessarily believe everything the inmate tells you.

they malinger alot. many an inmate was told to leave my office... they say 'i can't breathe, my asthma'... and you listen to their lungs and clear as a bell, just 'throat noises' from faking.

it's cool to be able to rely on your skills.

on the other hand, if the officers are telling you that you can't do something, if you feel strongly about someone needing care, you have to explain it to them in a professional manner, and then do what you can with the time you are given. it can be difficult. i found it rewarding.

i did alot of education; many of the inmates didn't know how to take care of basic medical needs.

try it per diem and see if you like it. most facilities are always looking for help.

amanda, resident cruise goddess!

cruising to mexican riviera for nurse seminar; whoo hoo!

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Amanda, I know this post is from 2008. I am hoping this is still your same email. I have a huge decision to make. I have been offered Cali up north prison opp as an LVN. I have done hospice and thats it. I have a huge backbone, very strong, however, very empathetic. I would love to have more advice from a lumni. Please help a fellow nurse. I have to call them tomorrow and give them my yes or no with my registry. Its a huge decision as I am leaving my family to advance my career for a short time and I am at about 98% that I am going. I can do whatever is thrown my way. I am a rookie nurse, and from what I saw in your post I would love to hear more about the prisons with advise from what I see as a lumni in nursing in the prisons. I completely agree that you don't get involved and do your job within your scope and not to the oh poor inmate thing.... Please help.

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Specializes in Med-Surg., Psych.
Was thinking about trying out corrections in california. Im a 36yo male LVN with 1 year experience urgent care. What kind of duties would I be responsible for? hows the pay, hours like? what does the interview consist of? should I stay away from any particular prisons?

Thanks in advance

I was an LVN at CDCR for 4 years before getting my RN. Most of the prisons hire LVNs to pass out medications in their assigned units, main yard, reception center (RC), special care unit (SCU), segregated housing unit (SHU), some work in clinics as well. Pay is about $4254/mo minus the state-mandated 3-day furlough. It's 8 hour shifts, 6A-2P (2nd watch) 2P-10P (3rd watch), I don't know of anyone working 10P-6A (1st watch) as their regular shift unless it was overtime. One of the things I liked about the prison was the flexibility of the schedule, I was able to work 16-16-8 so I didn't have to go in more than I had to.

The interview I had was a panel of 4 supervisors (SRNII's) who asked me the expected interview questions as well as 15 or so clinical practice questions.

Definitely stay away from women's prisons unless you like to hear whining and complaints of petty BS all day long.

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Is there any possibility to become a permanent if they hired you for limited term full time in prison health care california as LVN

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