Quite a mouthful, and quite a challenge to deliver in a correctional setting. Some may ask if nurses working in corrections can truly care for their patients, considering the circumstances of their incarceration. The American Nurses Association defines nursing as …the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and…
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Elderly Inmates – Increasing the Need for Correctional Nurses
With the current economic woes, governments are looking at ways to trim costs. The burgeoning correctional system is one place being reviewed. Upwards of 25% of a state’s budget may be allocated to this concern. However, it is unlikely that much can be spared from correctional healthcare budgets. Costs have been escalating for many reasons, not a small one is the…
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Legal History of Correctional Nursing – Part II
Two terms which guide correctional healthcare emerged from case law surrounding the Estelle v GambleSupreme Court ruling. The ruling cited a “deliberate indifference to serious medical need” as a breach of the 8th Amendment barring cruel and unusual punishment. These terms have guided correctional healthcare and the practice of correctional nursing. Once again, I refer heavily to William J. Rold’s…
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