Opportunities for Nurses in the Corrections Field?

Answer 1

Job opportunities for nurses are available in nearly every industry, including corrections. Nurses are needed in both jails and penitentiaries to care to ill or injured inmates. A job in correctional nursing can be demanding because many inmates have diseases that were untreated before they entered the criminal justice system. Diabetes, hypertension and HIV are common among prison inmates. Correctional nursing is not a job that all nurses want to do, but it can be rewarding for the nurses who spend their day as the primary caregiver of murderers and drug dealers.

The Many Duties of a Correctional Nurse

Nurses who work in prisons and jails treat many different injuries and ailments. Nurses who prefer to prepare for their day in advance may not be good candidates for correctional nursing. On a typical day, a nurse in a correctional facility may provide patient education to an inmate who is diabetic, treat an injury and administer the daily HIV medications of multiple inmates. A nurse in a correctional facility must be able to work as both an emergency nurse and a primary care nurse. Inmates face a variety of health issues and correctional nurses are often the first medical providers that inmates have come in contact with since childhood.

Benefits of Correctional Nursing

In addition to the appreciation correctional nurses receive from the inmates, there are also financial and other incentives to practicing nursing in a prison or jail setting. While the average starting salary of $48.000 per year is slightly lower than the starting salary of a hospital based nurse, many registered nurses prefer the work as a correctional nurse to work in a hospital because inmates tend to be more cooperative patients. Correctional nurses see the inmates on a regular basis so they have the opportunity to make a difference in the health of their patients through care and education. Most correctional facilities prefer to hire nurse practitioners who can work with little supervision. Registered nurses also work in corrections under the supervision of physicians and nurse supervisors.