Would you ever consider being a correctional nurse/np?

[floatingribs]

So I've got to do a project on Correctional health care, but I thought it would be interesting to see how many people going into health care would consider being a prison doctor, nurse, etc. or to see if it was the last field you'd resort to. Also leave comments or thoughts below on correctional nursing!

(thanks to anyone who answers)

[NotYourMamasRN]

It is not for me, but it is definitely for someone out there. Sometimes I view my time in the trauma ER as a bit like what correctional nursing might be like. I was always getting beat up, I feared for my life, and my ER was always filled with cops. I did not personally enjoy it.

[NursesRmofun, ASN, RN]

Well, you ask this from the perspective of someone weighing options that never has been in a corrections position. I have been. Actually, it was one of my favorite types of nursing. I didn't need to make them tea or grab them a diet coke, etc. It took most the waitress aspect out of the job, in my experience. LOL

[amoLucia]

... I mean if you actually study how bad the inmates in this country are treated there is something definitely wrong with health care and this was one facet I was trying to get a point of view on.

Am not sure if my opinion is really true, but I don't know how truly bad inmate treatment is in this country when compared to inmates in other countries. I will concede that overpopulated facilities is prob at the root of all the problems occurring in correctional healthcare. The prison population system in this country is closely monitored by so many - regulatory and privately.

Just like all other facilities (hospitals, NHs, ALs, HH agencies, etc) you have good ones and you have bad ones. Poor administration, cliqueish coworkers, demanding, challenging and manipulative clientele, poor compensation packages, overwhelming job responsibilities, lack of supplies, outdated equipment, etc plague so, so many of us, regardless where we work. And this is not confined to healthcare alone. (Listen to teachers complain.) One also needs to remember that correctional institutions are primarily civil service and that is a whole different problem unto itself.

I wish I could 'triple LIKE' post by Nonyvole!

There are many nurses out there who provide this vital service and they persevere despite all the problems. Kudos to them.

Actually, I considered correctional nsg one time. But the idea of civil service deterred me.

[TriciaJ, RN]

I definitely did not mean that and looking back on it it would've been better had I mixed it up (I just wanted in a logical sense order but I could've flipped it)

That being said one of or professor's last week told us some of us with certain views should never attempt to apply in a Planned Parenthood clinic or a jail because of our views. That being said my projects basically on the malpractice of health care providers towards inmates, so I wasn't trying to imply it was lower.The point was to show really if people even considered it or if the stigma holds true that lots of people pre nursing, nurses, other health care professionals don't view it as the optimal area of work. I mean if you actually study how bad the inmates in this country are treated there is something definitely wrong with health care and this was one facet I was trying to get a point of view on.

Also not claiming to know much, but I mean just hearing some of my professors talk and my fellow peers they obviously do degrade it and I was trying to figure out if it was one of the reasons why our prison health care is so bad in some prisons. I think I should've clarified what I'm trying to research in the question.

Sounds like some of your professors are seriously biased and are passing this along to their students. Many of us were taught that healthcare is healthcare and it is not our place as nurses to judge who is deserving and who isn't.

Of course nurses will gravitate to different kinds of nursing based on a lot of different factors. But your professors should not be teaching you that some kinds of nursing are more legitimate than others.

If prison healthcare is not all it should be, then there is a bigger picture to look at. It over-simplifies (and degrades all nurses) to suggest that nurses are deliberately providing poor-quality care because they look down on their patients.

Have your professors actually nursed anywhere? Do they have any real-world experience?

[iShaybie, ADN]

I wouldn't fit in at a prison, lol. I'm pretty set on the cosmetic side of nursing so I've never considered working in corrections, ever. However there's a girl I met in my program who's dream is to be a corrections nurse! That's all she wants to do and she can't wait. She served in one of the military branches (maybe Air Force) for five years before pursuing nursing so maybe that has influenced her?

[bebbercorn]

I think I would really enjoy it! My husband is more against it than I am, but as a PP said, ER is no less dangerous. Everyone has a right to decent health care, whether they've been caught for an offense or not. As long as I felt secure, I don't see why not. I think people make a lot of assumptions of what type of nursing we can do based on the population... e.g., people look at me when I say I do ED/Trauma and say "I could NEVER do that," when most of my patients are not bleeding from 5 places, really... That being said, I could never do OR and NICU because of my own experiences and preferences, although I do know some rockin nurses that work those units, it's just not for me.

[SarahMaria, MSN, RN]

I work forensic nursing in maximum security and love it. I would never consider doing anything else. I enjoy the challenge of working with this population.

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

I worked in corrections for a few months. I enjoyed it. If I'd been able to get more than per diem hours, I would have stayed. The population was very interesting, and I was allowed to say no to the inmates. I didn't have to feed, toilet, or lift anyone. The COs were there if someone tried to hit you.

I'm not offended if other nurses consider corrections the bottom of the barrel. I personally will only go back to LTC if my family is facing immediate homelessness.