Correctional Nurse, Correctional Nursing Schools, Training, Jobs, and Careers

What is Correctional Nurse?
Correctional nurses provide much needed medical care to prisoners in correctional facilities. The nurses assist doctors and nurse practitioners in offering medical services in the facilities and usually have bigger responsibilities in comparison to others nurses in the hospital setting.

They are licensed practical nurses or registered nurses who apply to work in correctional facilities. The nurses therefore care for prisoner patients with all kinds of illnesses as is common in prison. The daily duties may include:

1. Patient screening and assessment to gather medical history
2. Assisting doctors with various medical procedures
3. Administering medication
4. Patient record keeping
5. Being available for “sick call” at the request of a patient or incase of an emergency
6. Visiting and checking-up on patients with chronic cases
7. Observation and reporting on subsequent condition of treated patients
8. Educating patients on various illnesses as necessary
9. Etc.

Nurses in correctional facilities work directly under doctors and nurse practitioners. The responsibilities that these nurses are charged with provide a great opportunity for growth in their career. At the same time, the job comes with greater risks than would be the case in hospitals given the high rate of diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and other diseases that are easily transmitted within prison facilities. They therefore need to exercise great care when executing their duties and responsibilities. For instance, they need to wear gloves, masks and medical gowns every time they attend to patients.

How to Become Correctional Nurse:
Correctional nurses must be qualified registered nurses, licensed practical nurses or certified nursing assistants. Becoming a registered nurse involves a process. You first need to pursue an associate’s or bachelor’s degree or a nursing diploma. You then need to complete the nurse licensing examination. On passing the exam, you now qualify to apply for a license to work as a registered nurse.

A licensed practical nurse on the other hand is required to have a high school diploma and then proceed to a nursing training program. After the program, the nurse must pass a licensing exam, which will qualify them to apply to become a correctional nurse.

To become a certified nursing assistant, one needs to have a high school diploma or a General Educational Development diploma (GED). You then need to join a hospital, college or vocational school for nursing assistant training in which you will sit for a certification exam. On passing the exam, you can proceed to apply to become a correctional nurse. There are no special qualifications needed to become a correctional nurse as long as one is certified in the above three fields of nursing.

The main areas of study for the nursing programs include:

a. Human anatomy and embryology
b. Physiology
c. Biochemistry
d. Immunology
e. Pathology
f. Pharmacology
g. Nursing Fundamentals
h. Nursing Psychology
i. Surgical Nursing
j. Nutrition
k. Nursing Concepts

Upon certification, one can proceed to apply to become a correctional nurse. You will then be in a position to work in jail, prison and other correctional facilities.

Correctional Nurse Salary:
The nurses that work in correctional facilities make decent income. Our search on Indeed.com showed the national average pay is $68,000 per year. This depends on your location and years of experience. Also keep in mind that your pay will continue to increase as you gain more experience and years of service.

Correctional Nursing School:
Correctional nursing schools are the same as other nursing schools. You can attend a school that offers LPN/LVN or RN to become one.

One such school is University of Phoenix. They have campus and online programs. In fact, they are the leading innovators in online education. Follow this link to visit and get their free information.

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