Dansko_shuffle

I think everyone should try it at least once in their career. I've worked in corrections for two years and I love it. But it is most certainly not for the faint of heart. You will see a little bit of everything as far as health wise. Chronic care such as diabetes, Hep C, HIV/AIDS, htn, etc, I could go on and on. And all types of mental illness. My facility houses men and women and I've had many pregnant women come through our doors as inmates. Corrections is one of the most diverse places. I have learned about so many different diseases, medications, religions, transgenders, transsexuals, withdrawals/detoxes, gang affiliations, what tattoos mean, all types of things. It has given me a lot of confidence as a nurse and it has given me a back bone, which I never had much of prior to working there. It's definitely toughened me up and I am thankful. I prefer working with the men rather than the women. Both are manipulative, but the women are by far the worst. Comparing it to long term care which I've worked in for 10 years, in various positions, but I have a lot more independence at the prison. My assessment skills are 10x what they were being full time at the nursing home, believe it or not. No we don't have wound vacs or crazy dressings/pressure ulcers or g-tubes at the prison, but we have so many other things. A lot of emergencies, but we also have plenty of fake emergencies. People fake chest pain and seizures and all types of things. At any given time, anything could happen and that's one of the reasons I like it so much, you must be ready to go at all times. I say give it a shot! I hope you like it!

I've been working in corrections for 2 years and I love it. My biggest piece of advice is don't let it change you. That was what everyone I work with told me when I first started and I had no idea what they meant until two years later. I'm thankful that it has given me a back bone and that I am confident in my nursing practice. But it has changed me. I have no tolerance for nonsense like I did before and at times I do feel jaded/immune to certain things that happen in prison/jail. And some of the things I see are awful. Some people think it's "cool" that I work there, others think it's terrible and unsafe. I look at it this way, I'm never alone in the sense that an officer is always with me. And for the most part the inmates/detainees don't really give the nurses a hard time. Some definitely do but for the most part it's just like any other nursing job- you have good patients and you have annoying ones/trouble makers. But nonetheless, I am thankful and I love what I do, it's unlike any other job, you can't even make up some of the stuff that happens! I feel like everyone should give it a shot at least once. And I hope you like it! Because I love it.