kstyle1733

I understand where you are coming from and I didn't intend to make a "soap-box" sermon about how hard correctional nursing is. In response to your initial question," do the correctionals hire new grads? The answer is yes, they do hire new grads. Regarding the issue of prison vs. county jail, I can only speak from a county jail perspective. My personal opinion is that a county jail would be a safer and a better learning experience just because most of the jail inmates do not have sentences that leave them hopeless. i.e. They are not looking at life w/out parole or DP so they have a good shot at a life on the outside if they don't screw it up in jail before their sentencing. Good luck

I am an RN in a county jail and I would never use the word "relaxed" to describe my job. We assess, triage, and treat inmates; while at the same time we must consider the inmate's motives, mental health, addictions, legal problems, and our own safety!! We are the first to deal with any medical complaint from an inmate! We are Mental Health, E.R., Med.-Surg., and Community Health nurses all roled up into one. We do not have the luxury of an M.D. on duty 24/7 to make crucial life or death decisions! We decide if an imate must be sent out for emergency medical service and then we must be ready to explain or defend every step of our decision making process. We deal with inmates who will lie, cheat, and manipulate, just to break up the monotony of their own day. We must also police the inmates so they don't "cheek" their meds in order to stockpile or use as currency. We have inmates who never have or never would take a pill, but because they are now in jail and "entitled to health care" will take advantage of every free handout they can get. This is not a "relaxed" nursing job! This is a fast paced and demanding job which requires you to utilize all of your nursing skills while working autonomously!

I am an RN in a county jail and I would never use the word "relaxed" to describe my job. We assess, triage, and treat inmates; while at the same time we must consider the inmate's motives, mental health, addictions, legal problems, and our own safety!! We are the first to deal with any medical complaint from an inmate! We are Mental Health, E.R., Med.-Surg., and Community Health nurses all roled up into one. We do not have the luxury of an M.D. on duty 24/7 to make crucial life or death decisions! We decide if an imate must be sent out for emergency medical service and then we must be ready to explain or defend every step of our decision making process. We deal with inmates who will lie, cheat, and manipulate, just to break up the monotony of their own day. We must also police the inmates so they don't "cheek" their meds in order to stockpile or use as currency. We have inmates who never have or never would take a pill, but because they are now in jail and "entitled to health care" will take advantage of every free handout they can get. This is not a "relaxed" nursing job! This is a fast paced and demanding job which requires you to utilize all of your nursing skills while working autonomously!

I am an RN in a county jail and I would never use the word "relaxed" to describe my job. We assess, triage, and treat inmates; while at the same time we must consider the inmate's motives, mental health, addictions, legal problems, and our own safety!! We are the first to deal with any medical complaint from an inmate! We are Mental Health, E.R., Med.-Surg., and Community Health nurses all roled up into one. We do not have the luxury of an M.D. on duty 24/7 to make crucial life or death decisions! We decide if an imate must be sent out for emergency medical service and then we must be ready to explain or defend every step of our decision making process. We deal with inmates who will lie, cheat, and manipulate, just to break up the monotony of their own day. We must also police the inmates so they don't "cheek" their meds in order to stockpile or use as currency. We have inmates who never have or never would take a pill, but because they are now in jail and "entitled to health care" will take advantage of every free handout they can get. This is not a "relaxed" nursing job! This is a fast paced and demanding job which requires you to utilize all of your nursing skills while working autonomously!

I am an RN in a county jail and I would never use the word "relaxed" to describe my job. We assess, triage, and treat inmates; while at the same time we must consider the inmate's motives, mental health, addictions, legal problems, and our own safety!! We are the first to deal with any medical complaint from an inmate! We are Mental Health, E.R., Med.-Surg., and Community Health nurses all roled up into one. We do not have the luxury of an M.D. on duty 24/7 to make crucial life or death decisions! We decide if an imate must be sent out for emergency medical service and then we must be ready to explain or defend every step of our decision making process. We deal with inmates who will lie, cheat, and manipulate, just to break up the monotony of their own day. We must also police the inmates so they don't "cheek" their meds in order to stockpile or use as currency. We have inmates who never have or never would take a pill, but because they are now in jail and "entitled to health care" will take advantage of every free handout they can get. This is not a "relaxed" nursing job! This is a fast paced and demanding job which requires you to utilize all of your nursing skills while working autonomously!