I'm thinking of working in correctons, and wanted to hear from nurses who work(ed) in corrections. Pros? Cons?

hello,
i am a Rn who has spent several years working in corrections,and i perfer it over any other
areas of nursing.working in the prison enviroment offers a whole different aspect to nursing.it gives you the POWER
to really make a difference in how you TREAT YOUR PATIENTS,it allows you to offer a geniue kindness to someone who doesn't have it offered very often.Because these patients are behind bars,they are treated so HATEFULLY AND DEGRADED by many nursing professionals,which is not only WRONG but also in-human.All people,no matter where they are deserve good patient care.It is NOT OUR right to judge those behind bars,we are nurses,and we are there to give good patient care,regardless of what their crime was.As a correctional nurse,if you work in a good correctional facility,you will be given training on how to handle yourself in the correctional enviroment,as well as how to work along side the security staff.Please believe me when i say...if you want respect,then you must give respect......and if you are a good nurse and a good person,you will understand where i am coming from.all nurses want to be treated with respect,just as do our patients !It is true that if an inmate gets out of hand,the officers will be there to assist you,however in the years i have worked in corrections,the only time i have seen nurses having problems with any inmate,was because the NURSE had a problem,not the inmate.......NO nurse tells any inmate to do anything,you ask them,just as you would a patient in a hospital or clinic.AND IN NO WAY DO YOU "BOSS ANYONE AROUND",if you approach the inmate with respect and talk to them as you would any patient,you won't have any problems.
As a Director of Nurses working in corrections,i would fire any nursing staff i saw being over-bearing,bossy,disrespectful and just darn right hateful to any inmate just because they think they can........

LOL, got ya girlfriend,however,you would be surprised by how many nurses actually believe they can do those things i mentioned sweetie.........you would think there true calling was in "security vs nursing".........sorry for coming across to bold,i guess i have seen too much of it and i know it truely exsist...........thanks pat

hey cdnurse,
i agree 100% with you,nothing worst than seeing nurses ,any level of nurse,mistreat an elderly........it sickenings me to no end !!!!!!!!!!..................pat

The agencey that staffs the jail I am in is very good. In fact, the care is better than the hospital I came from. It all depends on the jail, the COs and the staffing agency. Some are awful. The inmates in this jail are babied. I think they are in most jails now for fear of las suits. We went to the other extreme. So many of the jails were very corrupt and inmates were treated awful.

dmchaucer. keep in touch and let me know how you make out. I love my job in the jail. So far it is the best job I have had in nursing.

We have lock down often and we can come and go as we please. There are very rare times that no one can go in or out of the jail. A nurse I work with has been there for 14 years and it has happened only twice in 14 years.

My starting pay is 4 dollars an hour more than the local hospital offers LPNs and the benefits are much better.

shelle: it is very rewarding. at times it is very frustrating. But, what job is nursing is not like that?

You would love this. I wish that I had done it when I first thought of it.

This looks like a fun group and an informative topic

I have done some PRN work at a correctional facility in NYS. The work is not very demanding at all and the medium security correctional facility is like a country club. There is sick call where they all come and complain and try to get out of going to program, or they want OTC medications for generalized problems. You have the insulin run, flu shot season, blood draws, and the draft where new inmates come in. There is also emergency sick call and doctor call outs. It is more like a parent taking care of their kids medical problems. Most of the time out of the 1500-1700 inmates there are 200 - 300  that are in the infirmary all of the time. At the facility where I worked there were inmate nurse aids that took care of the patients in the infirmary so there really was no hands on care. There were some nurses there who came to work in white jeans and heels LOL to try and impress the officers. There is usually a lot of drama so beware.

I've worked in corrections as an R.N.. What I like about the same  is the increased professional responsibility and authority that I experienced as a corrections R.N.. Togeather with the same, I enjoy knowing that this same professional authority and responsibility has been very efficacious in alleviating the physical, emotional, ethical, and spiritual anomalies, often interrelated,of prisoners.As in home health and hospice nursing, you can address the individual patient rather than having the dilemma of addressing a plethora of patients simultaneously. However, as per the above, you have more professional responsibility and authority which allows you to address the problems presented in a manner that utelizes your nursing and intellectual skills to the utmost.

I have worked in corrections before, actually earlier this year. The job itself was not bad, it could be very overwhelming @ times though. When I went to work in the prison system, I done it for the state benefits. I didn't have a problem with the inmates and @ first I didn't have a problem with my co-workers. Until I was assualted by an inmate who worked in the clinic. My health administrator did not back me, neither did the warden and very few of my co-workers. One RN  was extremely pissed @ me, she even went out of her way to dismiss this inmate from his duties @ the clinic. When it was none of her business. My DON tried to back me but the health administrator got her way as with the RN also. The inmate himself was charged with assualt and 2 yrs max added. I really caught a hard time about alot of stuff. And the sad thing is I wasn't covered under the civil rights act because I was still in probation. There were some very hard lessons learned re: me working as a correctional nurse. I tried to give respect to the inmates and do my job to the best as I could. I guess I just didn't fit in with that type atmosphere. And the only thing was I just wanted the state benefits and to do my job.

I have been considering nursing at a correctional facility.  Problem is that I see no openings in my area (spfld., MA), even though there is a jail in my own town.  Any advice on where to find job listings.  I've tried the internet, newspapers, etc.  Thanks.