Need help! What would you do?

[JoblessRN]

i am a new grad having a horrendous time trying to find a job (job count now up to 59)...

that being said, a good friend that i work with said that she is pretty certain she can get me a job at a very high profile prison in the state where i live. she called one of her co-workers there and she said that a few nurses are retiring and they have no problem hiring new grads.

i am very aware of the high risk environment and the challenges i would face. my question is:

if i go to work at this famous prison, would that count as "experience" when i go to apply for a hospital job?

my worry is that if i work there, when i go to apply for a hospital job they will look at my experience and not "count it" as experience, like some hospital in my area do with ltc/snf's (which i completely don't understand....less, i digress).

i appreciate any advice/feedback/help. thanks so much!

[caliotter3]

Experience is experience. Type, quality, length of experience can be factors in one facility hiring a person while another passes that same person by, but no hiring manager can say you didn't get "experience" at the prison job. Don't be worrying about that now. You need to concentrate on getting hired so that you can put experience on your resume. Good luck.

[Orca, ADN, ASN, RN]

I have worked in correctional nursing for the past eight years. You will not lack experience. As a matter of fact, you may gain more experience in some things than you would on some hospital floors. It is not unlike being a nurse in a small town, where you handle everything from minor scrapes and bruises to stabbings and gunshot wounds. I performed my first blood draw in prison (the hospitals I worked in always had the lab techs do them), and I treated my first gunshot victim (as a matter of fact, six of them in one night).

Corrections is a tough path for a new grad because of the degree of independence it requires. Hopefully you will have a supportive group of coworkers who will help you through the rough times.

[tnortham]

It sounds like a really interesting job...and right now a job is a job, experience is experience. You may really like it. I would take it!

[Lala27poodles]

You should definitely take the job..

I'm not a nurse yet, but I am a professional.....and I see that you've been seriously struggling with finding a job on here from reading all of your previous threads and posts.

I would take it but keep your eyes and ears open for something better for the future. :)