How many times have you wished for a change of scenery or desired more control over your career? With advances in technology and the nursing shortage, we're all well aware of the changes the nursing profession has made over the past several decades. There are more options available to nurses now than ever before and many of us are referred to as "nurse entrepreneur."

Nurse-owned businesses are springing up all over the country, and this wave of entrepreneurialism has also presented some unique, perhaps unexplored, business opportunites. Outsourced correctional health care is one such area.

I started as a medical administrator more than 20 years ago and worked in a small jail. As the facility and its needs grew, so did the job and my responsibilities. The variety of chronic and emergency cases, as well as working with families, courts and outside providers, keeps the job ever-changing and challenging.

You may be unfamiliar with nursing in a jail environment, but as a former jail nurse administrator, I can attest that it offers a safe, controlled environment -- and often times is safer than an emergency room, where you never know what kind of patient you might be faced with. In a jail setting, the patient has been searched and is usually hand-cuffed, and an officer always accompanies you.

That's one of the reasons I helped start MedGuard Health Services, a new company that has premiered the concept of nurse-owned correctional care franchises. With MedGuard, you have the freedom and flexibility of being your own boss, paired with the security and guidance of a large and experienced parent company. The support of the larger company also alleviates some of the risk for the franchisee by helping secure contracts to the exclusive health care providers for a county jail and making liability insurance affordable.

A typical day would including training correctional officers on the screening questions they should ask during intake, which helps the nurse and the jail staff to properly classify the inmate. A nurse might also respond to sick calls and coordinate the delivery of prescription and over-the-counter medications as needed. As the jail nurse you help the facility control inmate movement and bring medical services into the jail -- sometimes for the first time ever. Flexible scheduling and continuity of care remain the advantages to providing medical care to a jail population.

As this entrepreneurial wave sweeps the nursing profession, I would like to encourage nurses to learn more about this unique new career opportunity. Please visit www.medguardhealth.com for more information. 

By Robin White, RN
VP of Development, MedGuard Health Services