As an MS-IV, I spent two months in a prison for my required "underserved/rural rotation" and it was truly one of most fascinating experiences of my life. This took place at the Florida Department of Corrections in Lake Butler, FL which is about 45 minutes north of Gainesville. From what I was told there, they are the last hospital behind bars in the country (other than the feds). It about a 150 bed hospital with ER, radiology, and surgery and all acutely ill patients in the Florida prison system were transferred there, with the exception of seriously ill (ICU patients) were sent to the county hospital in Jacksonville. Its definitely a fascinating environment to work in--there are inmates that work in the hospital as orderlies (called permanents), going through security everyday, and seeing the social interaction among inmates. Plus there is a ton of interesting pathology in the prison system--HIV, tuberculosis, unusual cancers, etc.
Because prison hospitals do not fall under the rules of JCHAO and CMS, there is a large amount of freedom for students. The other 2 students and myself were assigned about 8 patients at our time. They were our patients--our names were on the chart, we dictated their H&P's, wrote progress notes and orders, and performed any procedures needed (central lines, intubations, I even did a blakemore tube). We sat down with our attending for about an hour a day to go over the patients.
The rotation was one of the most popular at my school, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in correctional medicine. It definitely opened my eyes to a lot of things--and not just about medicine! Supposedly they are starting the first-ever correctional medicine fellowship at this hospital which can be done after a family medicine or IM residency. They were always eager to have medical students so I wouldn't hesitate to contact them to see about a rotation if you're interested, just do a search for Lake Butler prison. PM me with any other questions!