Any nurses who work in a prison - able to give me advice please?

[Lillycake]

I have just qualified as a mental health nurse and applied for a job in a prison.
I really struggle with childcare as a single parent and did throughout my training.
I have no clue what area of mental health I want to work. I didn't enjoy my training and very anxious about working in the field. However desperate to earn money so need to start somewhere. This job is ideal 4 days 8 - 4 for childcare. I'm just a little concerned about what the job will be like. Apparently you either love prison work or you hate it. How do I know if I have never tried it?
It's assessing new prisoners and taking part in group therapies.
Just wondering if there were any prison nurses out there who could tell me their experience.

I'm not a mental health nurse but I've worked as a nurse in a prison on and off as part of my hospital contract.

I absolutely loved it, much nicer than working in a hospital and believe it or not much more relaxed.

There's always prison officers with the prisoners when they are around you for safety and most prisoners don't want to harm you or be argumentative. They realize you're there to help them.

Plus it's an interesting experience. I'd certainly give it a go.

I'm not a nurse but i do work in a prison. There is no way of telling whether you'll like it or not before you get there!

I would say, have confidence in yourself and your own abilities, TALK to your colleagues (nurses, doctors, drug workers, prison officers, teachers), and don't ever let prisoners "separate" you mentally from other staff. You'll hear awful stories, and probably see some awful things, and you will be seriously busy, because every department is understaffed and everyone is run off their feet. Dont ever take a prisoner's word for anything without double-checking. Be friendly, but never friends.

However, you will also find that its funny, fascinating, never EVER boring, and you will meet some of the most interesting people you have ever met in your life. I have been at my place for nearly 7 years, and i absolutely love it. I laugh, i cry, i get angry and frustrated, but i never get bored. If you want to know anything specific, feel free to PM me.

I've not worked in prisons but I've worked with pharmacy staff who worked in prisons and they always spoke highly of how interesting it was. I'd imagine that bizarrely you're possibly less likely to come to harm than you are working in a hospital, as it's anticipated and there are guards?

I wasn't a prison nurse, but I was a prison tutor that worked with prisoners in the hospital wing.
I've seen people start at 9am, leave for lunch and not return. Some people just can't handle it. The majority can though.
Whether you are in an adult prison, a YO or a juvenile will make the experience different. Adults are usually more mature and better behaved. The hospital wing is also smaller than the general wing, however, you do have a mix of prisoners; those who have had accidents/injuries, those that are being bullied/beat up, and obviously some self harmers, mentally ill etc.
I think you will just have to give it a go and see if it is for you or not.
Good luck.

I’d recommend calling the recruiting manager and asking if they can facilitate some time for you to come in and shadow the role. If you are successful, you will need to undergo security vetting (not difficult, just a very long form) which can take weeks to be processed and approved. Sometimes people start in these roles after a lengthy recruitment and vetting process to find out on day 1 they don’t like it, and quit. Then the whole process has to start again. So recruiting managers have a vested interest in making sure the successful candidate has a realistic expectation of the job, and there’s no better way than shadowing to show you around.

I have been a mental health nurse for 34 years and coming to the end of my Career. I now work in liaison and see a fair amount of people who have been in prison, I have also worked with lots of ex prison nurses over the years. I would personally think it will be very challenging as a newly qualified nurse, the reality will be that most of your work will be risk assessing for suicidal patients in a group of people who will be predominantly personality disordered. Prisons are full of people who have experienced trauma in their formative years and go on to be emotionally unstable. I know it's slightly different but in my role in A&E I spend a lot of time sending people home who tell me they are going to kill themselves (and they are at greater risk of completing suicide). You need to be certain of what support you will be provided with and level of responsibility, ask if you will be the only RMN on duty, if you are I would be very cautious. Working with personality disorders can be very hard and you need a good team around you.

I’m not a nurse but am a healthcare professional who has worked in a prison. Yes it was fascinating but after a few months I quit, I hated it and never felt safe, often having to go ask for staff to be in the room with me as most of the time it was just me and a prisoner and nobody else in the room. I also hated the security process going in, 100x worse than being at an airport! This prison was a male Category A one though with mainly sex offenders, so I guess different prisons may vary...

Oh and I had to deal with all the lies, a lot of prisoners would lie about their symptoms in the hope of getting sent to hospital, I didn’t like having to decide someone was lying, usually in practice you don’t have to make that judgement but in prison it’s pretty common...

I’m also a Mental Health Nurse. Never worked in a Prison. Am curious to know what draws you to this job when there are so many opportunities for Mental Health nurses out there? Wouldn’t you be better to go for a band 5 post somewhere where you would have more of a team of other nurses around you for support. Will you get a Preceptor in this post?

Thankyou everyone.
The hours suit me for starters. I'm struggling so much with childcare. Everywhere is shifts, it's difficult.
I'm not sure what area I want. I have to be honest, I do not enjoy the role. Being a student working in mental health was difficult, it impacted on my own. I was advised by so many that working would be different. I don't want to work in an acute ward. I don't want to work in a secure unit (even though the prison is secure, it's different). Community jobs are hard to find at band 5, I have been looking plus I need experience before community. I am seriously thinking about looking in a completely different field as I can't find suitable hours. I just don't want to waste my degree.

You could also look at working in substance misuse... all prisons will have a substance misuse team (not sure if this is the role you’ve applied for or if it’s the MH team). Community based substance misuse services also have roles for MH nurses and these tend to be mon-fri 9-5, they can be quite well paid if the service is run by an NHS trust.

Lillycake I don’t agree you need experience before community these days. I am a CMHN and have several colleagues that came to community straight after qualifying. Keep looking. I really hope you find something you enjoy and we don’t lose you from our profession. There are too few of us as it is! We need you! Well done on getting your degree too! .