There are very few studies investigating the work nurses do in prisons. Based on data stemming from a study of the psychodynamics of work and a literature review, this paper describes nursing practices in a Canadian penitentiary institution. Three male nurses and two female nurses participated in three two-hour long focus group sessions. Central sources of pleasure that emerged from the focus groups were the scope of nursing care practice; the autonomy and collaboration with physicians; nursing care practices that were devoid of moral value judgments, had a humanitarian approach, and focused on caring; the wish to make a difference to the lives of the inmates; and the pride connected to this unusual professional context, as well as the recognition they received from peers and inmates. The main sources of suffering on the other hand were the feeling that rehabilitation was more an ideal than a reality; the paradox of providing both care and safety; the scary characteristics of working alone; the fear of lawsuits; and the feeling of being observed continuously. The resulting data we discuss show the issues of a certain dissociation that exists between the patient and the inmate—that of the fear of the place of practice (prison) contaminating their nursing identity, but also the feeling of plenitude and sublimation. The conclusion highlights the tension that exists between safety and caring, distance and proximity.