Prison Nursing....Is it safe?

hammockhugger01 · Aug 1, 2007

I just interviewed for a correctional facility. I interviewed with an RN, the Sheriff and two deputies. They all informed me that there is always staff available, always an officer with any inmate who they know will be questionable and if need be in restraints (cuffs). My husband is okay with my working there if I'm offered the job. Where else are you surrounded by police when you're on the job. You just have to be assertive and very private about who you are when with the inmates. This is not the job to make friends and buddies with your patients. Just smart nursing.

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Aug 1, 2007

Moved to the Correctional Nursing Forum for more responses. Good luck!

VegRN · Aug 1, 2007

Like I always say, safer in there than on the outside.

I have worked med surg for many years as well as corrections and still do both. The times I was swung at, threatened, swore at etc all occurred while working in a med surg environment. I have never felt my safety was threatened while at my corrections job however I have felt this way on my med surg unit. Think of all the psych, confused, demented and angry pts that come through med surg that you are generally in the room alone with. In corrections where I work, there is always an officer present. The most that has happened has been an inmate getting upset and yelling at me. In this case, both I and the officer immediately take control of that situation and instruct the inmate to quiet his voice. If he chooses not to, I have the option of leaving the room and coming back when I feel it is appropriate.

In corrections you don't have to take all the abuse that you would in other nursing environments. There is not a customer service focus and you don't have the kiss the a** of the pts/inmates. If they are acting up, you can stop the assessment and leave. Simple as that.

However, if this is your first nursing job, I am not sure it would be a good choice for you. You should have some experience and really build your skills up before you enter an environment where you may be the only health care provider on duty. As well, inmates are pros at lying and faking symptoms. You have to be really skilled at what to look for to determine what you need to do such as send them out, call the Md etc. It would be difficult to have to learn how to be a nurse and also learn how to take care of an often manipulative, dishonest inmates.

Blackcat99 · Aug 1, 2007

It depends on where you work.In the past, I was left alone with inmates a few times because the prison was always short of correctional officers.

Sheri257 · Aug 2, 2007

It depends on where you work.In the past, I was left alone with inmates a few times because the prison was always short of correctional officers.

I agree ... it depends on the facility. When I worked at a private prison I was left alone because they barely paid officers minimum wage, they were always short and, the guards weren't peace officers so they didn't have any weapons (like pepper spray) to protect you.

I now work for the state and think it's a lot better because they pay their CO's a lot more and all of them have weapons. There's also a lot more CO's ... not as many staffing problems.

However, you still have to be careful. One medical staffer let an inmate into our office without custody present so ... having a lot of CO's around won't help if the staff is sloppy. You have to do your part and make sure you and the staff are being safe at all times.

Nevertheless ... as soon as I bring security issues to the attention of my supervisors and the Sgt's in state prison, they jump right on it. They take security very, very seriously. In the private prison, they really didn't care because more security costs more money. There ... the bottom line is the priority, not security.

weezyljm · Aug 3, 2007

Been there - done that.. it is relatively safe in State Prisons... the only caveat is that "men pray and women faint"....meaning that if there is a hostage or other "critical" situation, the officers storm the place (unit) and come in shooting at ANYONE standing. SO, you must always remember to "get down", literally. You also can't be thin-skinned (easily offended), as inmates will do anything to get your goat and try to embarass you. I just laughed at them.

The only other thing you MUST KNOW...is that guards pose more of a danger to you - than the inmates generally do. If you don't stay on the good side of the guards, they can very easily slip contraband onto your person/personal belongings... and then "catch" you with it. This is what happened to me, sort of. I "took" a piece of leftover chicken from an inmate's plate, that would have been thrown away - to feed to a feral cat on prison property - and was charged with "stealing" state property...which was bogus, of course, and I was not prosecuted - but was suspended (with pay...LOL) while it was investigated. My mistake was that I had an inmate's D/C's RX in my lab pocket that I honestly FORGOT to drop off at pharmacy (inside infirmary) before I left and was also accused of reprimanding drugs for personal use....which caused a

BS reprimand from the state on my license.

I know this was all a set-up (after I pissed off a guard by reporting him for beating up on an inmate while being transported to infirmary in prison van), because I was searched on the way OUT after work - and I was the only person searched.

I did go back to work after the suspension (the only person to ever do so) - and I held my head up - but was glad to quit shortly thereafter - when the guards literally drowned an inmate on day shift (in the infirmary) and a 3-11 RN lost her license over it.

I saw the handwriting on the wall, and then promptly quit, to protect my license.

Sheri257 · Aug 3, 2007

There's several bizarre aspects to this story that don't make a lot of sense to me.

For one thing, I don't believe the guards would come in and shoot anyone standing during a crisis, at least where I work. We're not allowed to wear blue because the inmates wear blue ... they'll even send you home at the gate if you wear blue.

Why? Because they don't want the sharp shooters mistaking you for an inmate if something really bad happens. And, obviously that means they're not going come in with guns blazing and shoot everyone standing or otherwise. That's why the inmates wear blue, and we don't.

As for the chicken incident ... why would you have access to inmate food to begin with? Even if a guard somehow slipped it into your belongings ... everybody knows at my facility that nurses never go anywhere near chow unless it's an emergency so, that just doesn't make much sense to me either.

As for the drug incident ... well ... maybe you were the only one searched because you were under suspicion and, the fact that you had the drugs probably didn't help. You do have to be really careful with drugs in prison because they are going to be very anal about it. When it was discovered that narcotics were missing at my facility, several nurses were fired for it.

MadisonsMomRN, BSN, RN · Aug 3, 2007

I feel pretty safe. I work in a moderate security prison and so far I havent had any issues. I have only been there for 3 months. The inmates pretty much respect the nurses. I work in the infirmary and we have a guard there every step of the way. We are NEVER one on one with the prisoners, ever. Depending on the prisoner, we have 2 guards with us.

You cant let them manipulate you... you must set boundaries and stick to them. Just remain professional. :)

Its all about safety... SAFETY FIRST.

weezyljm · Aug 3, 2007

You are "obviously" an "expert" on prisons - so I will not comment, except to say that I find your diatribe about my post ignorant and demeaning...just further proof in my belief that nurses do "eat their young." For such an alleged expert - you are very opinionated.

EnigmaticParadigm · Aug 3, 2007

I feel very safe at my prison, but I do a lot of common sense things to increase that feeling:

Never turn your back on an inmate; dont let them walk behind you on the way to the blood pressure machine, dont turn your back as you dispose of sharps, etc.

Don't talk about your personal life with other staff in front of the inmates. Even simple things, said over time, will paint a very detailed picture. Inmates are always listening...always.

Make sure at least one custody officer is with you at all times: in the clinics, TTA, CTC, escorting, etc. Especially if youre the only staff in the clinic.

Always carry your damn alarm. It bugs me that so many medical staff brush off chiting out an alarm. It may save your life. This goes for your whistle, too.

Always chit out a radio (with a working battery, lol) and have it close by. Pay the extra $20.00 and purchase an alarm holder for your belt (mine was covered under yearly uniform allowance). Take the radio with you if you are going out to the buildings. Even if it's never used for security purposes, custody will love you for the fact that you can respond even faster to "man-downs."

Always interview an inmate near a working telephone. Most in CDCR know the trick I'm talking about.

Know your surroundings, exits, quick escape routes. You never know. This also includes fire extinguishers, fire alarms, etc.

BE RESPECTFUL. There is a big difference between respectful and friendly. I treat all of the inmates I come in contact with as human beings without carrying on conversations with them or allowing personal information to leak out. I address all inmates by their last names (as in "Mr. Smith"), ask them how they are doing today, and thank them for their time when our sessions have ended. If an inmate I've helped in the past says "'sup man" when I walk by, I simply say, "good morning, afternoon, etc" and keep walking. I see WAAAAAY too many medical staff being downright rude to inmates when there is no need (power trip?). That type of behavior, over time, could get you "green-lighted" real quick.

To go along with the respect notion: always keep your word and 'fess up for mistakes. If you told an inmate that he would be placed in MD Line or that you would look in to his missing meds, then do it. If you forget and they call you on it, 'fess up and say that you will still look in to the matter. Again, being a truthful individual not only boosts the image of medical staff, but builds respect.

When a yard alarm goes off, don't go running to the scene before it is cleared by custody. Not only is waiting back a bit safer, but it can save you the nasty OC spray leftovers (happened to me once...blarg).

Never loan out your personal items or equipment to inmates. Make sure they have a pen filler to write with in advance. Never hand them over a pen. May sound stupid, but in doing so, you just gave them a weapon if they chose to use it as such.

Never leave your post without letting someone know. If nobody can find you, custody will go so far as to lock the whole damn facility down and do extensive building searches until youre found. It's happened before and people were p i s s e d.

Never stand in such a way that would make it easy to get "gassed" by inmates. I've seen LVNs put their damn faces inside the food slots in cell doors. Ugh.

NEVER EVER place your keys down; not even for a second. Secure them to your purchased key holders/ scabbard. Custody, where I work, will take keys that medical staff lay down and hide them to prove a point (least they don't turn you in for it, heh). They'll hand them back after cold panic sets in and the medical staff member begins to freak out. Actually, it's pretty funny, heh.

Have a good working relationship with fellow medical and custody staff. Back them up and they will back you up.

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head. As long as you follow the rules of the institution and use common sense, you'll be fine. It really is a safe place to work. I'd take a clinic shift over a hospital ER shift any day (safety wise).

VegRN · Aug 3, 2007

Always interview an inmate near a working telephone. Most in CDCR know the trick I'm talking about.

Maybe I am the only one that doesn't know what this means but, can you please explain this?