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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think working in a prison might be fun?

87 replies

SmashAgainstTheMachine · 06/12/2016 19:34

Have a job interview next week for prison nurse. Everyone I have spoken to that has done this job has really enjoyed it and I think I will too. Family however think I'm mad and shouldn't go ahead with it.

It's a catagory B prison for men.

OP posts:
Laiste · 06/12/2016 20:14

laiste - what made you pull up the OP on her choice of words, especially when she'd corrected herself - it sounds so bitchy.

Similar sentiment to what rockchic just said. I asked Op why she used the word fun. Genuine question. I said it sounded immature. Genuine opinion. If she's going for an interview i don't think she should be saying she's expecting to have fun

Pluto30 · 06/12/2016 20:16

Having worked in a prison previously, I can safely say I sure as shit will never do it again.

There's nothing rewarding about it, IMO.

ilovewelshrarebit123 · 06/12/2016 20:19

I was a Prison Officer for 18 years and fun is not a description I'd use!

Being a nurse in a prison is not like nursing in a hospital. You'll supervise the doctors appointments, give medication out and they all try to get more, try not to swallow it so they can sell it on etc. You'll deal with some people with severe mental health issues (I've been terrified on many occasions and seen some very sad things) and some horrific injuries dealt out by other prisoners.

Believe me it's a dangerous, thankless, very difficult job. I'd think of something else if you're after a fun job and you do sound somewhat naive!

TheWoodlander · 06/12/2016 20:19

Prisons are famously overcrowded and understaffed at the moment, so I would be very dubious about it.

A friend of mine is a probation officer working with several men's prisons, she works with sex offenders mainly, which you will find in a Cat B prison.

Fun is not a word she regularly (or ever) uses about her job, tbh. She says her job colours her view of everyday life because she sees so much of people who have done horrific things.

Patchouli666 · 06/12/2016 20:21

Couple of friends we met on holiday ( they are married ) were both prison officers. They both had to resign. Conditions weren't safe. The legal highs and drones flying things in meant that a controllable situation could flare at any time. The bloke of the couple is a hard nut, but he was broken by it. It's bloody hard looking in from my limited experience

alltouchedout · 06/12/2016 20:28

I've worked with a few people who worked in prisons. You either love it or hate it, it seems. It definitely wouldn't be for me, even visiting prisons is something I dislike. I think if you are the right sort of person to enjoy the job, and you genuinely want to be part of making prison as positive a thing as it can be, there's a lot that can be got out of it.

Chesntoots · 06/12/2016 20:31

I'm an Officer (not "warder" or "guard" or any other name which really pisses us off. On duty I have the same powers as the police).

The fact you refer to it as potentially "fun" scares the shit out of me, to be honest. There is nothing "fun" about being in a room, possibly on your own, with a convicted murderer, rapist or other type of sex offender who will take great delight in showing you various parts of their bodies to gauge a reaction to see how far they can go. There's no "fun" in them making polite chit chat to see your weakness, so they can physically or mentally interfere with you, asking to shake your hand to say thank you when all they will do is try and push it further and then wank off at being able to touch a female.

Make no mistake. The job is not "fun" in any shape or form. It is dangerous and unless your defences are up 100% of the time you are a danger to yourself and other poor sods that have to drag you out of trouble.

I would have a serious rethink...

Sorry if that sounds harsh. I've been in the job a long time and seen the results of sexual and physical attacks on people. None of those people had "fun". It is more dangerous, for both the people we are trying to help and rehabilitate and staff, than it has ever been and the media only report a fraction of what happens on a daily basis.

Rant over. Sorry!

suchafuss · 06/12/2016 20:32

What about working as a nurse in a Police custody suite? I work as an appropriate adult so spend a lot of time there and always feel safe.

yeOldeTrout · 06/12/2016 20:33

But somebody has to do it... And kudos for those who do or at least try it. Nobody ever seems to have any type of work to recommend on MN, it seems. If OP thinks it might suit her then she can give it a try & walk away if it's crap. Not like prisons are the only places employing nurses.

MrsDesireeCarthorse · 06/12/2016 20:35

I teach in men's prisons, Cat A - C. Always really enjoyed it. Bit different from being there FT though.

Surprised to hear the sex offenders talking about their crimes in front of another poster though. Every time I go past them, they all look away and don't say a word.

PatMullins · 06/12/2016 20:42

Fairy do you mind me asking what is was called?

I work in healthcare and prisons were on my radar but with everything being reported lately I've decided against it.

PatMullins · 06/12/2016 20:42

*it

BernardsarenotalwaysSaints · 06/12/2016 20:43

I wouldn't!

My Aunt has been a prison officer for years & while she likes what she does for the most part you can see the toll it's taken on her. She's been at a cat A for around 8 years now & it sounds soul destroying.

MerryDickCrack · 06/12/2016 20:46

I'm a probation officer. I don't find going in to prisons especially intimidating, but then I see the same men after release on my own, in their homes, with no security so seeing them in prison is the safer option.
Prisons and indeed the entire criminal justice system is underfunded, and subject to political whim.
Also there's an old truism, when the psychiatric hospitals are empty, the prisons are full. Prisons house many many people who in previous times would have been in an asylum. Expect to see serious enduring mental illness on a daily basis, complicated by drug misuse and desperation at the environment they find themselves in. You will need enormous resilience, a dark sense of humour and a team around you who can support you emotionally. It won't be fun. It is interesting.

ellalouise123 · 06/12/2016 20:55

i know people who have worked in the prison service, no one has ever called it 'fun'. it could be interesting i guess and challenging. i really don't think it's the job to go for if you're looking for something fun though.

AwfulSomething · 06/12/2016 20:59

Suchafuss appropriate adults like yourself are hugely valued but behind the scenes the staff do work hard to keep such people safe. While custody suites generally are safer and 'nicer' for want of a better expression they can and do often become problematic, same skill set required and same morale/danger/stress issues.

TheFairyCaravan · 06/12/2016 21:07

Pat I think it was called The Secret Life of Prisons. It was on Channel 4 iirc

LifeLong13 · 06/12/2016 21:08

I taught in a jail for 4 years. The nurses I spoke with on fag breaks were amazing but very few stayed for long as they were constantly stitching up horrific self harmers. I would never go back to HMPS. You couldn't pay me me enough to erase some of the horrid scenes I saw. And I was just a teacher.

DonutParade · 06/12/2016 21:09

You are clearly completely unprepared for the reality of working in a system that is on a knife edge right now.

IonaNE · 06/12/2016 21:11

Go for it, OP. While "fun" might not have been the best word, it will be interesting, rewarding and worthwhile. Dangerous, too, now and then. I have worked as a supply teacher in a secure unit; and once went for a job in a YOI (didn't get it), so I can understand you. Let us know what's happened, and good luck!

DiegeticMuch · 06/12/2016 21:12

My friend's retired dad teaches French in a prison and really enjoys it. His students are mixed-ability but very keen. However, when they come to you, the nurse, they will not be there by choice and are unlikely to be easy to work with in general.

SixtyDegreesNorth · 06/12/2016 21:13

I worked in a Cat B male prison for 7 years. I loved every second of it. This was a long time ago though, when Nurses underwent the Officer training and before the NHS took over. There was lots of fun had, alongside horror. The camaraderie was second to none, like a family. I was young, free and single, and it was awesome.

I worked in a prison again about 10 years later, and it was horrendous. I lasted two years. It has got a hell of a lot worse since then.

Be prepared for other nurses to look down their nose at you, indeed everyone does. They assume you must be a shit nurse to work there. But the work is varied, challenging, rewarding and unique.

Ginmakesitallok · 06/12/2016 21:13

It'd be a fucking barrel of laughs...

Not really

YelloDraw · 06/12/2016 21:14

I think it would be anything other than fun. You'd be at serious personal risk.

SusanneLinder · 06/12/2016 21:14

DH is an RMN but would never work in a prison. There is always jobs getting advertised in a local prison to us. And they get readvertised a few months later. We take bets on when the next time the job advert will pop up.
They don't seem to stay...