When BYU students end up in jail, it’s not usually something the university is too happy about. But that’s not the case for BYU nursing students, who earned clinical hours this term by providing important medical services at Utah County Jail.
Nursing students enrolled in the At-Risk Populations section of Nursing 401 & 402, Global Health & Human Diversity, have been earning hours at the Utah County Jail for years now. During a shift at the jail, the nursing students perform blood, tuberculosis and other tests for dozens of inmates and also shadow nurses and doctors who work at the jail. The students are always accompanied by an officer and one other staff member.
Despite safety precautions, many students were nervous the first time they went to the jail. Samantha Curtis, a senior from Bonners Ferry, Idaho, majoring in nursing, said all the precautions might have added to her anxiety.
“When I went for the first time, we were warned that some of the inmates might try to manipulate us to get information,” Curtis said. “We were told not to be too friendly to the inmates.”
Regan Erickson, a senior from Glendora, Calif., majoring in nursing, also said she was nervous the first time because she didn’t know what kinds of people she would be dealing with.
“I didn’t know how many [inmates] would be rapists, murderers or child molesters,” Erickson said. “I was going to be in a room with them and a needle, so I was a little worried about my safety.”
However, most of the students said their anxiety faded shortly into their first shift at the jail. While in jail, most of the inmates try to exercise good behavior because acting out can have harsh consequences. A jail differs from a prison because most of the inmates are waiting to be sentenced or serving short sentences. If the inmates misbehave in jail, their sentences are often extended.
Peggy H. Anderson, the section’s professor, said the class allows students to gain much more than just nursing experience.
“It’s an educational and a cultural experience for the students when they go,” Anderson said. “It’s an eye-opening experience to see people dealing with addiction and other patterns of behavior.”
During the spring term, students are required to complete about 80 clinical hours. While only a portion of those hours were done at the jail this semester, the hours working with inmates often have the largest impact on the students. Curtis said she was taught by the doctors there not to judge the inmates.
“They said not to look at them as criminals because it’s not our place to judge,” Curtis said. “I realized the people in there aren’t always bad people but many of them just made bad decisions.”
Anderson said she was pleased with students’ reactions to the experience.
“One of our goals is to get rid of our preconceived notions and learn to care for all of God’s children regardless of circumstance,” the professor said. “I think this experience really allowed the students to do that.”
