Correctional Travel Nursing with Axis Medical Staffing

What does a correctional travel nurse do

Travel nurses working in corrections will typically see a wide range of illnesses and injuries in inpatient and outpatient settings. While care may vary by facility, you can work closely with your recruiter to determine which corrections facility fits the environment you’re looking for.

As a corrections travel nurse, you may see psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, diabetic patients, chronic illnesses, some traumatic injuries and infectious diseases. Your tasks and duties will often be the same as those in a more traditional hospital setting. You may assist with monitoring medical supplies, intake of patients, assessing and diagnosing, administering medications, and monitoring patient progress. You will also do charting, typically paper charting, which admittedly can take some time to get used to if you’re accustomed to electronic charting, as most nurses are.

Is correctional nursing safe

It’s the first question every nurse asks, and the answer surprises most of them. Many nurses who’ve worked corrections contracts with us tell us they felt safer there than at the hospital they came from.

Correctional facilities run on security procedures that hospitals don’t have. Movement through the facility is controlled, facilities set their own protocols for staff presence during care, and every facility runs a structured orientation on movement rules, contraband rules and what to do if something feels off. Each facility is different, and your recruiter will go over what the specific facility’s protocols look like before you accept.

The rules you’ll live by are different too. No personal electronics in secure areas, phones stay in your car or a locker. Strict professional boundaries with the people you treat. Paper charting at some facilities. None of it is hard, it’s just different.

What you need for a correctional travel assignment

An active RN license in the assignment state, or a compact license where the state accepts it. Clinical experience that varies by facility, and this is where corrections is different from most travel contracts. Some of our correctional clients accept nurses with one year of experience, and they welcome Med-Surg, psych, rehab, long term care, home health and urgent care backgrounds, not just acute care. If you’ve been out of the hospital for a while or you’re coming back after a break, corrections is often the contract that says yes.

Beyond that, a background check and the facility’s security clearance, and a facility orientation before your first shift. Your recruiter confirms what each facility wants before you’re submitted, so you never go in blind.

Why nurses stay in corrections

Extensions are the norm, not the exception. Travelers often ask to extend before the first contract is halfway done, and more than a few have taken permanent positions when the contract ended.

The reasons are consistent. The schedule is predictable, blocked shifts with real days off. The patient ratio is manageable. You work with a lot of autonomy, which sharpens your assessment skills fast.

Correctional travel nursing in Washington

Axis staffs correctional facilities in Washington state, where nurses contribute to healthcare delivery and rehabilitation while experiencing the culture and scenery of the Pacific Northwest. Learn more by visiting our Tacoma and Seattle correctional city pages.

Where Axis places correctional nurses