If you work with female incarcerated individuals, you are likely to regularly care for pregnant patients. It is estimated that 6-10% of incarcerated women are pregnant at any time in the criminal justice system as almost 80% of female incarcerated individuals are of child-bearing age. Many correctional nurses enter their correctional practice with little experience caring for pregnant women, yet we…
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Correctional Nurse Practice Update: Code of Ethics: The Right to Self Determination
A patient’s right to self-determination is part of their inherent human dignity. Provision 1 of the Code of Ethics for Nurses calls us to practice with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and unique attributes of every person. Individuals forfeit many of their rights when incarcerated. Is one of them self-determination? Consider this situation: The inmates in several…
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Top Ten Skills for Correctional Nurses, Part 2
In this post, we continue our discussion about the Top Ten Skills that Correctional Nurses should have as they care for their patients. We have begun the discussion in our previous post, Top Ten Skills for Correctional Nurses, Part I. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for you to practice with the equipment before being in a situation…
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