skifall

If you're willing to look outside the box may I suggest correctional nursing in Washington state. We have Prisons sprinkled thoughout the state usually in lower cost of living areas. We mostly hire nurses with experience and aren't concerned with pay scale issues. Keep in mind the state is suffering budget problems but at the same time recently opened a new prison outside Tri cities and need nurses. Take a look at our website.. Washington state Department of Corrections and see what you think. I've worked here for 8 years with a psychiatry back ground and find it much safer than working hospitals. I hope to stay here until retirement. Skifall:nurse:

thanks for the heads up re: tbrd.. although, tbrd carries a fantastic gift for writing. Oh the books I could write if I possessed it.

Wow tdrd450 very well written. I would go onto writing books if I had your skill. While I agree in some respects with the "slippery slope" I find there are safety nets along the way which include working in teams. Don't strive to be perfect as some nurses and managers do, and think that you have to produce the highest quality of care and dewell in quilt if you don't. Don't overwork yourselves, take breaks, have pot lucks and other team building activities. I'm more concerned about a nurse that approached prison work as a lone soldier. Team work is crutial. Our water cooler discussions focus on medical issues. We learn from each other and face unique medical and behavioral challenges together and often come up with good care planning. We help each other during busy days which means: two, three, or four codes. We don't sit around and bad mouth or talk behind backs. I wouldn't work in an evnornment which wasn't supportive. We rely heavily on our medical skills which serves to improve them not the oposite. Correctional institutions take on unique culture within every state and within every prison. This is where you'll find "power" issues. Some prisons are harder to work than others I'm sure. I fit in where I'm at but wouldn't consider working in other states from what I've heard. Corrections is a political hot bed and often subject to state budgets which are suffering as you all know. Safety is slowly getting compermised which I feel is the biggest topic. I wouldn't want to get trapped within the walls if/when it all goes down. Like I mentioned, if I had the writing skills I would go on and elaborate more. One could write a disertation on correctional nursing. I like the working evniornment and feel we have good leadership from balanced people at the facility I work at and feel lucky spend my career here. At the end of the day I reflect on did I take care of myself, drink enough water, have my lunch time walk and have a positive interaction with a co-worker. Good luck, and support each other.

Thankfully I haven't had to defend myself at my work place. I hope I never do. But I like the rule which supports defending myself if need be. Honestly patients in the hospital are much more out of control than in prison. I'm comparing our hugely busy Trauma center and State Psychiatric Hospital to the prison setting. Not all hospitals see the level of violence and out of control patients. We have quick and effective ways to ensure staff and offenders remain safe. On a positive note: the nursing work we do is meaningful and interesting. Offenders come down with the same diagnosis as the general population. We learn in detail diagnostics, treatment and outcomes. Talk about continuity of care. Our prison system is closely tied with our state budget and a hot bed for political issues which adds interesting topics for discussion. You can't turn on the news without reports of community crime and wonder if you know the offenders. Hopefully you get the message that I find correctional nursing interesting, and challenging and self perserving cause I can take care of myself while at work. Good luck in your career choice. Twogr8

I've been a correctional nurse for the past 9 years after working in a major trauma hospital. My job includes working with offenders in lock down as well as offenders who live in large groups and walk around freely. I intend to stay in corrections for the duration of my carreer. There's so much to be said about corrections I don't know where to begin. But here's a start: offenders dress themselves, feed themselves and their families are out of the picture. I stay hydrated, and use the restroom when needed, and I get a routine lunch period everyday. There's pleanty of parking, and I get to live outside a major city and not deal with traffic. The work is interesting and challenging. When there's a behavioral problem I get out of the way and let the officers handle it unlike hospital nursing. In a hospital you can't hit back period, in a prison they teach you self defense and tell you to hit, kick what ever it takes. To me correctional nursing is the best kept secret. It's not an enviornment for nurses who like to pat their patients on the back and call them endearing names, it's not for everyone. But then again, you'd never find me in a L&D unit. I'm greatful I found my nitch.