Thinking About Becoming a Prison Nurse

[Dis]

So at 35 I'm just now thinking of things I should've been thinking about in my late twenties...late bloomer I guess. And these thoughts have led me to consider a nursing position I normally wouldn't, for understandable reasons. I've been getting emails from a state prison asking me to interview. At first I thought, h*ll no. Then I thought a little more....

 

#1- Financial security- State jobs offer amazing benefits, really good pay and I can retire when I'm 55 if I start now...with a pension! 

 

#2- The healthcare field is packed full of women. Not a ton of opportunities to meet men unless I go to a large hospital which I don't want to do. So I haven't had many opportunities to meet men in the work force. But where are there a lot of male employees, like for every female employee there's 20 men? Prison. 90% of COs are men. And I would be swarmed by them according to a couple friends who either were COs or are currently COs. I'm aware some of that attention wouldn't be wanted BUT there has to be some nice COs out there and I would have quite a few to chose from. I told one of my CO friends I would be scared to work in a prison and would the COs look out for me, he said, "they would do more than that." I'm back on OLD and I have to say, I don't like it. I feel like I've outgrown the ability to form a connection through a contrived avenue like OLD. I want to meet someone organically and naturally. OLD isn't really my cup of tea anymore. 

 

#3- I want an adventure... I don't normally step outside of my comfort zone but from my experience...magical things happen when I do. I want to do something that scares me and something that challenges me. 

Concerns.... It's tough for a pretty woman to work in a prison for obvious reasons. Both the COs and inmates can be "dogs" according to my friends. So I am concerned about unwanted attention and also safety. I also heard RNs can be mandated to work 16 hour shifts which will kill just about any nurse...that's why most nurses don't pick up extra time...because the time we do pick up runs us into the ground. Also, my favorite part of nursing is being empathic and nurturing which I will have to dial way back for prison nursing for boundary and safety's sake....not sure I'll like that. 

 

But back to my first two points...financial security, a potential for partnership and a new adventure.... three birds with one stone...

Edited August 5, 2021 by Dis

[Love Yourself First]

Just keep in mind you could very easily find your way into population yourself when dealing with inmates, my neighbors wife was a guard until she ended up getting caught with contraband smuggling or evidence of it and was thrown in there with them, from what I understand between that and people having relationships with inmates, things tend to get hazy if left unchecked.

If you are disciplined, probably a decent job.

[Dis]

6 hours ago, Love Yourself First said:

Just keep in mind you could very easily find your way into population yourself when dealing with inmates, my neighbors wife was a guard until she ended up getting caught with contraband smuggling or evidence of it and was thrown in there with them, from what I understand between that and people having relationships with inmates, things tend to get hazy if left unchecked.

If you are disciplined, probably a decent job.

I've heard quite a few stories about nurses doing that and also having sex with the inmates...sorry but that's disgusting and only low based people get themselves into situations like that...not worried about it at all

[Love Yourself First]

1 minute ago, Dis said:

I've heard quite a few stories about nurses doing that and also having sex with the inmates...sorry but that's disgusting and only low based people get themselves into situations like that...not worried about it at all

you will be surrounded by the most masculine men you have ever encountered in your life and they gonna be very manipulative, very in shape, do not EVER underestimate nature, we all have a weakness of the flesh, especially the taboo kind.

[Alpacalia]

Hi Dis,

You're already in nursing, so I'm sure you're well aware of the physical and emotional challenges that comes with patient care.

Tough career by the way!

I'm curious, what do you mean by "potential for a partnership?"

According to what I gather, given the proclivity for manipulation and violence within a penitentiary context, nurses are attended by officers based on that likelihood.

Given that factor, it "may" be safer than certain other health-care environments.

But that's just one component, and it's not a profession I'd jump into lightly.

Edited August 5, 2021 by Alpaca

[mark clemson]

The bottom line is that pay is better because the risk is higher (and real, although presumably there's a low probability). IF something does happen, though...

Additional thought - consider if a female pen might be a better option than a male one for you.

[ShyViolet]

20 hours ago, Dis said:

#2- The healthcare field is packed full of women. Not a ton of opportunities to meet men unless I go to a large hospital which I don't want to do. So I haven't had many opportunities to meet men in the work force. But where are there a lot of male employees, like for every female employee there's 20 men? Prison. 90% of COs are men. And I would be swarmed by them according to a couple friends who either were COs or are currently COs.

Opportunities to meet men?  I find this to be a very strange reason to be interested in a job.

You sound a little naive about this to be honest.  I don't think you realize what you're considering getting into.

[Interstellar]

those cons are extremely manipulative since they got nothing better to do day after day but observe especially if there’s a pretty woman. 

there are a lot of cases of very smart women being affected by reverse stockholm syndrome, esp. with nursing where empathy is its core tenet.

[ClearEyes-FullHeart]

I agree this sounds a bit strange. Is the idea that you would potentially date a CO. I see no appeal in that profession whatsoever, especially given so many dynamics about the US penal system (I know you live elsewhere) but also dating people at work is a recipe for disaster.
 

Where you live do they have remote nursing? A cousin is a PA and does that - three weeks on somewhere, one week off at home. I believe it pays well though don’t have the details. To me this is more appealing. 

Good luck! 

[Dis]

I listed quite a few reasons why I would be interested

 

Meeting someone is just one of the many

 

But go ahead and zoom in on the negative 

[glows]

I’d only consider it as a career move. If it means you get an edge in and can boost or accelerate your career past this position (let’s say you worked there for 10 years), what are your opportunities after that? Can you do a masters in hospital administration in tandem and branch up or higher? Go longer range. Don’t stop at this one opportunity. 

Edited August 6, 2021 by glows

[ASG]

4 hours ago, Dis said:

I listed quite a few reasons why I would be interested

 

Meeting someone is just one of the many

 

But go ahead and zoom in on the negative 

You listed 3 reasons and the biggest paragraph was about meeting someone to date. So it seems clear to us bystanders that that's your main interest/concern. 
Reading your post, I forgot about the potencial job benefits and the only thing I got from it was "She wants to date a CO". 

 

So its not exactly us zooming in on the "negative", which you seem to think as a positive, but the way your post has been phrased makes it seem like THAT is your main interest. 

[elaine567]

This sounds a bit like Little Red Riding Hood wandering into the deep dark forest to try to befriend Mr Wolf.  

I think you are trying to move away from your nice, loving, empathetic, ex by going to the opposite extreme.
Some hard man CO in a rough, tough prison environment...
I feel you are going to be biting off far more than you can chew.
Life is no movie, some very disturbed, manipulative and scary people are in prison. 
Those who deal with them daily may be just as frightening as the inmates...

[clia]

On 8/5/2021 at 2:29 AM, Dis said:

#1- Financial security- State jobs offer amazing benefits, really good pay and I can retire when I'm 55 if I start now...with a pension! 

If this is the case, you have to consider why there is such high turnover and a shortage of nurses who want these jobs (which is my understanding), and why they have to actively recruit you.  I expect it has something to do with the work environment.  If you haven't already, you should try to have a discussion with someone who worked or works there to find out what it's really like.  What training do they provide, did they feel safe, what was a normal day like, what were the hours and schedule like, etc.?  I suspect you need to have a very thick skin and a high BS detector to do well in this environment.  I will also say that expanding your dating pool is not a good reason to get into a new job.  There are loads of ways you can meet men in person that will avoid the potential drama that dating a coworker can cause.  

[Noproblem]

I feel if your reasons were, oh I wanna help inmates getting their care and be a helping hand.. I would say go for it but be careful it's a pretty tough job! ... 

But man...your reasons are to get a man.. This a tough tough job that will drain you emotionally and physically.

This shouldn't be a reason to get such a sensitive and difficult job. Plus the guards and people who work there have sadistic side, you don't want to really be with most of them. They are as damaged as the inmates. 

and what if you fell in love with an inmate who is never going out? then what?

Edited August 6, 2021 by Noproblem

[Wiseman2]

On 8/5/2021 at 2:29 AM, Dis said:

I've been getting emails from a state prison asking me to interview.

#1- Financial security- State jobs offer amazing benefits, really good pay and I can retire when I'm 55 if I start now...with a pension! 

#2- The healthcare field is packed full of women.

#3- I want an adventure... I don't normally step outside of my comfort zone but from my experience

Something to consider as far as job security, benefits, hours, etc. However you have to be cut out for that environment.

Bars locking behind you, the level of malingering and sociopathy in that population, etc..

Go for the interview. Visit the place. If you can handle the environment, well someone has to provide care to this population, so?

Watch a few prison/prisoner movies.

Shawshank Redemption.

 Monster's Ball

 Dead Man Walking

The Green Mile

Escape From Alcatraz

Cape Fear.

 

[mark clemson]

3 hours ago, Wiseman2 said:

Watch a few prison/prisoner movies.

You might try Scared Straight if you've never seen that, Dis.

[Lotsgoingon]

Ask to talk to several experienced prison nurses.

You have to talk to experienced people away from the job--otherwise you're going to be in fantasy denial about the difficulty of the job.

You should also (before accepting any job) spend AN ENTIRE day with a nurse on staff. And if it's a quiet day, you need to return for a busy date. Again, this is the only way you REALLY see what the job is like. 

[Fletch Lives]

Dis.......why would you want to work with convicts, people that are some of the lowest on the planet? 

Nothing is worth risking your sanity for.

[ASG]

On 8/7/2021 at 10:03 AM, Fletch Lives said:

Dis.......why would you want to work with convicts, people that are some of the lowest on the planet? 

Nothing is worth risking your sanity for.

I mean... Convicts needs health care too. It is noble to want to help those people, who likely need help more than most

But she wasn't really thinking about the inmates. Just how many MEN there would be to fawn over her! 

 

[ClearEyes-FullHeart]

On 8/6/2021 at 5:11 PM, Lotsgoingon said:

You should also (before accepting any job) spend AN ENTIRE day with a nurse on staff. And if it's a quiet day, you need to return for a busy date. Again, this is the only way you REALLY see what the job is like.

This is great advice. I remembered after my initial post that my sister, while in a PHD program for psych, was assigned (or selected not sure) to counsel prisoners who had been involved in domestic and child related crimes. She was left scarred by the experience and had to seek her own counseling and support given what she had been exposed to.
 

Certainly as a medical nurse you would not be diving into the psyche of hardcore felons as she was. My sister was left with massive distrust issues of men overall. She certainly knows that the prison population isn’t a representative sample of men overall but the impact truly shook her. After her rotation, she swore off future prison work. 
 

I am absolutely not trying to be negative Dis, just saying eye wide open before making such a move.

Edited August 8, 2021 by ClearEyes-FullHeart

[Dis]

All my life I've had a drive to care for people. I know most of these men have done unforgivable things but I honestly do believe everyone should have the right to quality health care and compassion and I love providing that to my patients every day

 

I'm not naive about this though and I know it will be really tough and exhausting but...such is nursing! And nursing job where you work at bedside drains you. 

 

I want to get out of my comfort zone and do something new...I want to do something I wouldn't normally do

 

I have gotten some references from female nurses who have worked in prisons and they seem to like it...others didn't. It depends on the nurse. 

 

They are offering $40/hr with great benefits and pension... which is amazing. They said I will be working in the max security prison up north. I'm scared but I will have 6 weeks of training and if I don't like it I can always leave. I'm an R.N so I can get a job anywhere basically whenever I need to. 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2021 by Dis

[Dis]

On 8/7/2021 at 5:03 AM, Fletch Lives said:

Dis.......why would you want to work with convicts, people that are some of the lowest on the planet? 

Nothing is worth risking your sanity for.

Many people in jail grew up abused with no support and fell victim to falling through the cracks... I understand they've done bad things but my job isn't to judge, it's to provide care 

[Dis]

19 hours ago, ASG said:

 

But she wasn't really thinking about the inmates. Just how many MEN there would be to fawn over her! 

 

Rude af

 

Who are you to judge me like that? 

[Dis]

On 8/6/2021 at 1:39 AM, glows said:

I’d only consider it as a career move. If it means you get an edge in and can boost or accelerate your career past this position (let’s say you worked there for 10 years), what are your opportunities after that? Can you do a masters in hospital administration in tandem and branch up or higher? Go longer range. Don’t stop at this one opportunity. 

They pay would pay for me to go back to school which I plan on doing... huge win