[hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]Correctional settings offer unique challenges to nurses who seek to offer quality healthcare to incarcerated individuals. Prisons are overcrowded and nurses work under strict security regulations. The same skills that make nurses good emergency room (ER) nurses are the skills correctional nurses need.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]Some nurses fall into correctional nursing by accident. However, most find it a fulfilling career, and the patients are often appreciative. In this guide, we spoke with a correctional nurse who talked about what it’s like to work in a jail or prison. Learn the steps needed to become a prison nurse and how much they make.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-heading variant=”h2″]Q&A With a Correctional Nurse[/hen-ui-heading][hen-ui-card variant=”background-white” border=”stroke” padding=”lg”] [hen-ui-card-content] [hen-ui-text variant=”b4″][hen-ui-link href=”https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynn-scussel-b4a09661/”]Lynn Scussel[/hen-ui-link] is the associate director of nursing education [hen-ui-link href=”https://nursing.uworld.com/”]at UWorld[/hen-ui-link] where she assists in leading a team of subject matter experts to develop content for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) question bank.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]She began her registered nurse (RN) career in Connecticut as a staff nurse. In 2003 she earned a master of science in nursing and became a forensic nurse clinical specialist while working as a correctional nurse at Northern Correctional Managed Healthcare Facility, a level five super-maximum security prison in Connecticut. Scussel then transitioned into education as a nursing school instructor for Quinnipiac University, Goodwin College, and the University of Connecticut.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]While working for UConn, she piloted a new clinical experience for nursing students within several different correctional facilities in Connecticut. She later relocated to Chicago in 2008, where Scussel worked as an NCLEX content developer for Pearson VUE.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]She now resides in central Florida and has over 13 years of experience developing NCLEX-style items.[/hen-ui-text] [/hen-ui-card-content][/hen-ui-card][hen-ui-heading variant=”h3″]What led you to pursue correctional nursing specifically?[/hen-ui-heading][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]I could probably give the credit (or blame depending on your perception) to my mother, who is also an RN. When I was young, I remember her reading a lot of true-crime, serial killer books and watching “America’s Most Wanted” shows. She was intrigued by the story of how a serial killer evolved into a person who could commit such heinous acts.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]I also had my own interests in how the human body worked and absolutely loved psychology in high school and college. I knew I wanted to pursue working with criminal investigators and possibly pursue juvenile criminal research one day. My mother had a friend who worked in corrections when I was in high school, so I was aware that working in that environment was an option as an RN.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]Correctional nursing is definitely not highly advertised, so it is not often on a nursing student’s radar to pursue that field of nursing, but it was an interest of mine.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-heading variant=”h3″]What does a ‘typical’ day look like for a correctional nurse?[/hen-ui-heading][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]Ha ha! The real question is, “Is there such a thing as a [hen-ui-text tag=”em” variant=”b4″]typical[/hen-ui-text] day in corrections?” The truth is the answer is yes. The nurses have a routine each shift that we hoped we could get through. The reality is anything at any time during the shift could completely disrupt that routine.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]I always told people it was like going to the circus and waiting to see what the patients would do that shift. I said that with genuine honesty because I never knew what was going to happen, and a lot happened in the two and a half years I worked there.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]The patients in corrections often made me laugh. Many of them had talents that were wasted since they were locked up, but also, the behaviors and things that they would say for a reaction were entertaining and made the staff giggle or shake our heads in disbelief.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]Many patients enjoyed putting on a show for attention.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-heading variant=”h3″]What are some of the biggest challenges of your work as a correctional nurse?[/hen-ui-heading][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]The biggest challenge of working in corrections is finding your confidence — not only in your nursing skills but also in yourself.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]Some patients in corrections could be very rude to the staff. I had to remind myself not to take any of it personally and understand that they behave this way to get a reaction. I quickly learned if I do not react, most of them would eventually get bored and stop the behavior.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]I do want to be clear, though, not all the patients in corrections behaved this way. There were patients who were always polite and respectful to staff and even some patients that would insult another inmate in my defense.[/hen-ui-text][gastrointestinal] issues) and then once the inmate was in the treatment room, they might be making up symptoms just so they can be out of their cell and have a conversation or be assessed.[hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]For many of them, it was the need for the physical touch they received. Therefore, I had to be confident in my physical assessment skills to identify which reports of illness were feigned versus real. Not only did I often need to explain to the inmate why I would not recommend that they needed to be seen by the doctor, but also that they did not need any medication or lotions.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]Some of them tried to school me and test my knowledge of the human body! Confidence was key to surviving as a correctional nurse because the patients could smell self-doubt a mile away, and those nurses became prey.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-heading variant=”h3″]And the greatest rewards?[/hen-ui-heading][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]I found the greatest reward of working in corrections was the feeling of making a difference for some patients. Not all the patients acted inappropriately. Some patients took advantage of their situation in a positive way. Meaning they listened when you taught them something about their physical and mental health.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]Other patients were very honest in admitting that they were not actually sick, but really just needed to talk, or have that physical touch and assessment to get them through the next minute, hour, day, week, month, or year. I had patients that purposefully tested my nursing skills and then complimented me when “I passed their test.”[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]There was one inmate that swore every day he was an innocent man, and he was persistently polite and humbled by his situation. I heard, after leaving corrections, that he was, in fact exonerated and found innocent based on DNA evidence. That was a happy ending for me that he never gave up and eventually was given his truth back.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-heading variant=”h3″]What advice would you give to those considering a career as a correctional nurse?[/hen-ui-heading][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]My advice is that correctional nursing can be a very rewarding and challenging career, but it is not for everyone. It is very much a different specialty that requires a nurse to have a special kind of self-worth to make it through the challenges each shift will bring.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-heading variant=”h2″]Day in the Life of a Correctional Nurse[/hen-ui-heading][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]A correctional nurse is often the first healthcare professional a prisoner sees about a medical condition. The national prison and[hen-ui-link href=”https://www.vera.org/publications/people-in-jail-and-prison-in-spring-2021″] jail population[/hen-ui-link] hovers around 2 million patients, so the demand for correctional nurses is high and expected to grow.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]When patients are brought to the jail or prison, the correctional nurse usually does an initial medical exam. This may be the first time an individual learns they have high blood pressure or an infectious disease.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″]Nurses are a critical factor in the continuum of care for people who are incarcerated. Prison nurses distribute medications and are the first to assess people who may need further healthcare, including ER care.[/hen-ui-text][hen-ui-text variant=”b4″][hen-ui-link href=”/careers/correctional-nurse/”]Correctional nurses[/hen-ui-link] must have a broad range of skills and knowledge as they work relatively autonomously. They must be adept at physical assessment and emergency care for patients with physical and mental health conditions. These include:[/hen-ui-text]
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