Is Correctional Nursing For You

Have you ever thought about working behind bars? For many nurses, providing health care in a jail or prison is not even a consideration when deciding on a career direction. In fact, many practicing in the criminal justice system consider themselves to be 'accidental' correctional nurses. Must nurses have little contact with the criminal justice system in nursing school and so are unlikely to choose the specialty. In fact, the general public would rather not think about our patient population. Prisons are often located in out-of-the-way places and the patient population is invisible to most people. Yet over two million Americans are currently behind bars. That is a lot of people in need of health care. And, at least 95% of prisoners will eventually be released so correctional health care affects public health in a big way. It takes a special person to practice nursing. Nurses must jump into the lives of their patients at a rough point. Illness, injury, and suffering can be ugly, intense, and deeply painful. We deal with body fluids, needles, gaping wounds, and heart-wrenching loss and must take it all in stride. It takes a special nurse to practice correctional nursing. The criminal justice system is an unlikely health care environment and prisoners are a unique patient population. Here, illness, injury, and suffering are treated in the midst of heightened security, reduced resources, and isolation. Yet many nurses find their calling in this unusual health care setting. The variety and nature of patient health needs and the opportunity to bring care and concern into a dehumanizing situation can be unexpected job satisfiers. Correctional nurses deal with a population of disadvantaged and vulnerable patients in a difficult time of life. Lack of prior health care contact means nurses can care for patients with unusual conditions along with the mundane ones. Correctional nursing has been described as 'real' nursing as incarcerated patients need health teaching, self-care skills, and chronic disease management. Correctional nursing practice is autonomous and self-directed. Is correctional nursing for you? Find out in the pages of this short book. Take a few hours to explore the many facets of correctional nursing practice. Look behind the curtain into this hidden practice setting. Discover this well-kept nursing secret and decide if you should consider becoming a correctional nurse. Over two million incarcerated patients need you!

"Essentials of Correctional Nursing is the first new and comprehensive text about this growing field to bepublished in the last decade. Fortunately, the editors have done a great job in all respects...This book should be required reading for all medical practitioners and administrators working in jails or prisons. It certainly belongs on the shelf of every nurse, physician, ancillary healthcare professional and corrections administrator."--Corhealth (The Newsletter of the American Correctional Health Services Association) "I highly recommend Essentials of Correctional Nursing, by Lorry Schoenly, PhD, RN, CCHP-RN andCatherine M. Knox, MN, RN, CCHP-RN, editors. This long-awaited book, dedicated to the professionalspecialty of correctional nursing, is not just a ìgood read,î it is one of ìthose booksî that stays on your desk and may never make it to the bookshelf."--American Jails "Correctional nursing has minimal published texts to support, educate, and provide ongoing bestpractices in this specialty. Schoenly and Knox have successfully met those needs with Essentialsof Correctional Nursing."--Journal of Correctional Health Care Nurses have been described as the backbone of correctional health care. Yet the complex challenges of caring for this disenfranchised population are many. Ethical dilemmas around issues of patient privacy and self-determination abound, and the ability to adhere to the central tenet of nursing, the concept of caring, is often compromised. Essentials of Correctional Nursing supports correctional nurses by providing a comprehensive body of current, evidence-based knowledge about the best practices to deliver optimal nursing care to this population. It describes how nurses can apply their knowledge and skills to assess the full range of health conditions presented by incarcerated individuals and determine the urgency and priority of requisite care. The book describes the unique health needs and corresponding care for juveniles, women, and individuals at the end of life. Chapters are devoted to nursing care for patients with chronic disease, infectious disease, mental illness, or pain, or who are in withdrawal from drugs or alcohol. Chapters addressing health screening, medical emergencies, sick call, and dental care describe how nurses identify, respond to, and manage these health care concerns in the correctional setting. The Essentials of Correctional Nursing was written and reviewed by experienced correctional nurses with thousands of hours of experience. American Nurses Association standards are woven throughout the text, which provide the information needed by nurses studying for certification exams in correctional nursing. The text will also be of value to nurses working in such settings as emergency departments, specialty clinics, hospitals, psychiatric treatment units, community health clinics, substance abuse treatment programs, and long-term care settings, where they may encounter patients who are currently or have previously been incarcerated. Key Features: Addresses legal and ethical issues surrounding correctional nursing Covers common inmate-patient health care concerns and diseases Discusses the unique health needs of juveniles, women, and individuals at the end of life Describes how nurses can safely navigate the correctional environment to create a therapeutic alliance with patients Provides information about health screening, medical emergencies, sick call, and dental care Serves as a core resource in the preparation for correctional nursing certification exams

Correctional registered nurses provide healthcare and related services, including advocacy, health education, preventive care, research, and clinical care. They work with a diverse and often underserved practice population, one within the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system and who are or who may become patients. In this new edition you will discover the essentials of contemporary correctional nursing practice and a comprehensive delineation of the competent level of nursing practice and professional performance common to and expected from all types of correctional RNs. of particular

Using the memorable childhood story as a backdrop, the Wizard of Oz Guide to Correctional Nursing explains how correctional nursing is not like any other specialty in our profession. This isn't Kansas anymore, Toto! Yet, the principles of professional nursing are the same and must be applied in this new Land of Oz. This book provides the resources needed to gain the knowledge, heart, and courage to be a correctional nurse who makes a difference every day in the lives of an invisible, yet needy, patient population. This Wizard of Oz Guide to Correctional Nursing is an attempt to describe the various differences of correctional nursing practice while also affirming the sameness of professional nursing practice in the midst of the people and places of this new land. Using the familiar characters, places, and experiences of the story of the Wizard of Oz, you will journey to find your true self at the end of the Yellow Brick Road.

Legal information for nurses working in the criminal justice system

Seven Propositions to inspire professional nursing practice in the criminal justice system

Each person confined in jails, prisons, and juvenile detention facilities must be afforded unimpeded access to needed health care. Such persons, without risk of interference or fear of reprisal, should be able to alert health care staff of a medical need, obtain a timely professional evaluation of that need, and receive treatment in the manner prescribed by a competent provider. Simply stated, no correctional officer should ever prevent, impede, or inhibit anyone from alerting a health care provider of a perceived need for health services, even though the officer may believe the request is trivial, fictitious, or undeserved. This book focuses on access to health care services by special populations in correctional institutions (women, youths, elderly, persons with dementia, and the terminally ill), which includes important information on privatization in corrections. The following topics are featured: the context, principles, balance and implications of correctional health care, including the recent detention of immigrants in the United States; the unimpeded access to care, enhancements, stress reductions, health literacy, culture, ethnicity, religion, intake health screening, medical clearance for transfer or release, medications and clinical appointments, emergency care services, special settings, copayments, and budgeting for health care services; privatization, contracts, evaluating bids, monitoring the contract, and minimizing adverse risks; special health concerns of incarcerated women, communicable disease, pregnancy-related concerns, aging, frailty, osteoporosis, mental health, cosmetic concerns, health education and job assignments; youth in corrections, hygiene, exercise, gender-specific needs of young women, informed consent, supervision of vulnerable youth, substance abuse treatment, and the community connection; special health needs and humane care and alternative care of the aging; the prevalence, person-centered care, elements of care, environment, restraints, visits, and the ethics of incarcerating persons with dementia. The book concludes with end-of-life care in prison, hospice, palliative care, and compassionate release. It will serve as an invaluable tool for correctional officers, health care providers, justice and legal professionals, social workers, mental health professionals, and counselors.

When reading real-life stories about nursing, you might not expect mentions of fox fur coats or cages full of snakes (“five feet long and very skinny”). Yet these amusing vignettes sit alongside harrowing tales of plane crashes and time-honoured memories of Florence Nightingale. Front Line Nursing Stories is a compelling anthology of first-hand accounts longtime nurse and author Marian Facciolo collected from women who have worked in hospitals, care homes, communities, and prisons from the 1940s to present day, coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. The substance of these stories remain faithful to the nursing profession, without venturing too deep into technical terminology. At the same time, Facciolo asks readers to consider whether supports for the increased expectations of the profession (education, skills, workload) have kept pace. Front Line Nursing Stories is an eye-opening look at the evolution of healing as a profession, poignantly and pointedly shared through the eyes of women who have helped babies draw their first breaths and comforted palliative patients so they can die with dignity. Facciolo’s book, at its core, is a tribute to the power of compassion and humanity, perhaps at a time in the world when it is needed most.