Psychiatric Correctional Nursing... Is there such a thing?

Specialties Correctional

Published

Specializes in Psych, Assertive Community Resource Team.

Hi all!, I'm a RN student set to graduate this December. I have my BS in psychology and I have been working as a Case Manager\Tech on an acute care psychiatric unit for the past 5 years.

I live in a town that has both a maximum security federal prison and a minimum security state prison, so needless to say, we get a lot of ex-cons in and out of our psychiatric unit. I have been drawn to correctional nursing because I see a large gap in the care that psychiatric patients receive while in prison.

While I want to work in correctional nursing I have no desire to deal much with the medical side of things. I guess, to get to the point, I was wondering if there are any correctional nursing jobs that deal exclusively with psychiatric issues? Or would you find those jobs only in forensic psychiatric units?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

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I was a psych nurse in a female prison for years. They are contracted by MHM. I am now working for the DOC in the infirmary as a medical nurse because the benefits and raises are far better. I still deal with psych patients when they come to the POC so I have the best of both worlds.

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Specializes in Addictions, Corrections, QA/Education.

We have a psych correctional facility for males here...

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Specializes in ER, PACU, CORRECTIONAL HEALTH, FLIGHT.

yes, in Texas, Texas Dept of Criminal Justice, hires both medical and psychiatric RN's and LVN's for their larger state prison units. psych actually is on a higher payscale. dont know why, its an easier job, at least at TDCJ, than medical.

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in California we have a couple of different avenues.

we have DMH and CDC.

Department of Mental Health and California Dept of Corrections.

DMH runs Napa State and Atascadero state hospitals, and a few more.

CDC is the prisons.

I have done both.

The forensic hospitals here are really psych prisons without the correctional staff.

i have had inmates bounce back and forth between both while i was at each of them.

I prefer to have the prison security compared to a 100 lb staff member backing me up.

within the prisons they have psych units called EOP's.

so here, yeah you can pretty much be a Psych RN.

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Specializes in correctional, psych, ICU, CCU, ER.

Congrats on your upcoming graduation:mortarboard: Here in LA, about 95% of my IM are psych pts. I always said, If it weren't for drugs, ETOH, and mental illness, I wouldn't have a job. Good luck!

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