Correctional Nurse

Educational requirements:
A correctional nurse is a specialized field of nursing that consists of taking care of the
physical and mental health of inmates or detainees. This type of nurse can work in a
variety of different places such as a jail and prison, halfway house, group home, or
juvenile detention center .The educational requirements for a correctional nurse are the
same for any RN. You have to obviously earn your high school diploma, graduate from
an ADN or BSN program, then pass your NCLEX. However, there are many different
certifications you can receive for correctional nursing. One of them is called a
CCHP(Certified Correctional Health Professional). In order to receive this certification ,
applicants must have a nursing license and take a multiple choice exam that includes
questions on correctional health care standards. Another certificate is called the
CCHP-RN, which requires the CCHP credential and a two-hour multiple-choice exam
on correctional nursing. An advanced certificate of the CCHP-RN is called the CCHP-A,
which requires passing an advanced exam similar to it. Lastly, there is a certificate that
focuses on mental health in correctional nursing, which is called CCHP- MA, and the
requirements are a two-hour multiple-choice exam, an existing CCPH credential, and
completing questions on mental health standards. I think this certificate is important
because correctional nurses will see many mental health disorders in any correctional
facility they work in. Mental health is one of the biggest concerns in correctional
facilities. Having this certificate and background knowledge on mental health disorders
will better help you understand your patients and tend to their needs. All of these
certificates exemplify additional knowledge as a correctional nurse. The more practice
and information you have, the better nurse you will be for your patients.

Specific responsibilities:
Correctional nurses deal with a wide variety of medical and mental health problems.
They do both routine and emergency medical care. They also may have to take care of
people who suffer from a great deal of problems whether that is violence, suicidal
thoughts, or any other mental disorder. They see illnesses from acute, to chronic, to
severe. Correctional nurses are responsible for the routine health care of inmates with
certain pre-existing medical conditions. This might include illnesses such as high
cholesterol, diabetes, cancer, etc. While in custody, inmates can also develop acute or
chronic illnesses, ranging from a sinus infection to AIDS, and it is the correctional
nurses job to care for them. There are many diseases that circulate through a
correctional facility that a correctional nurse needs to be educated on and treat properly.
If an inmate is required to take medications, correctional nurses must give them their
medication and watch them closely. Correctional nurses also have to administer
emergency care that can come from different situations. These types of nurses have a
lot more responsibility than your usual bedside nurse. They do not work on a floor with a
specific problem such as a cardiac floor, these nurses deal with every and any illness.
Correctional nurses are responsible to be ready for any illness that is thrown their way.
Some days their responsibilities will be easy, other days it will be hard and they have to
work swiftly and surely.

Advantages:
Despite the stigma about correctional nurses, there are many advantages. One main
advantage of this profession is the freedom you have as a nurse and your practice.
Most of the time, the nurse is their own boss to a certain extent when working in the
prison. You make your own rules and really get to choose how to treat your patients,
rather than taking every order from the physician as in most nursing jobs. Another
advantage is gaining a variety of experience with all illnesses. As we said in their
specific responsibilities, they work with all types of diseases. If you are looking for a ton
of experience and knowledge, this job is for you. They don't focus on one body part or
one type of problem, but a wide range of diseases. One rewarding advantage is being
with your patient from start to finish. As a regular hospital nurse, usually a patient has
multiple nurses in one day and there are a million different patients coming in and out of
a hospital. In a correctional facility, you are with your patient from finding a diagnosis to
cure. You are working with all the same patients in your building. This gives an
opportunity to really understand and get closer to your patients. If you are looking for an
opportunity to make a difference in people's lives, a correctional nurse is the job for you.
You will be able to help out, give advice, and be a mentor for the inmates you are taking
care of. This job is very rewarding and gives you a chance to not only be a nurse, but
make a difference in someone's life who possibly needs it. Finally, a nice advantage that
you have over other fields of registered nurses is that you get paid more.

Disadvantages:
Along with advantages, there comes disadvantages. The main disadvantage of being a
correctional nurse is that you are working with inmates. Not every person in jail is a bad
person, but there can certainly be bad people that you have to take care of. People in
jail range from shoplifters to murderers, and you have to be ready for anything. The
biggest concern as a correctional nurse is having a safety issue. Some people can try
and get violent with you depending on who they are. If you are not a strong person, then
this job might not be for you. Another disadvantage to being a correctional nurse is
having to take care of certain things that you may not see as a regular RN. Many times
in prison people get beat up, raped, assaulted, etc. In this profession, you are the
person that is going to need to take care of this person who has had horrible things
done to them. You will have to take care of people with gun wounds, stab wounds, you
might have to perform CPR on someone who is in cardiac arrest. Another disadvantage
of this job is seeing things you normally wouldn't see. Again, if you are not a strong
minded person ,this job may not be for you.

Other: schedule, career mobility (opportunities), salary:

Schedule
Since correctional facilities need to maintain their inmates' safety at all times, usually
there is a nurse available 24 hours a day. Correctional nurses' schedules can range, but
usually they work a shift of 8 hours a day, either daytime shift or night time shift. 40
hours a week can be required in some correctional facilities.

Career mobility(opportunities): There are many jobs out there for correctional nurses.
Nurses are always in demand, especially correctional ones. A lot of people do not want
this type of nursing job due to the stigma and safety concerns, so they are in more
demand now more than ever. This job also has significant security. If you want to work
in the correctional nursing field and continue to work there for the rest of your career,
you will always have a secure job.

Salary:
Correctional nurses get paid more than the average RN.
$54,000, according to pay scale and pay ranges from $38,000 to $78,000.

Entry Level: $53,736

Early Career: $59,439

Mid Career: $65,530

Experienced: $69,027

Late Career: $72,001

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