NCJ Number
223170
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 70 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2008 Pages: 68-70
Date Published
June 2008
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article identifies and discusses the benefits of being a certified correctional nurse.
Abstract
In addition to providing a broad range of medical care to inmates, correctional nurses promote healthy behaviors among inmates. Providing health education is a key part of correctional nursing, which aims at persuading inmates to assume personal responsibility for their health. Expressions of job satisfaction by correctional nurses are the best evidence of its benefits. Carol Braun, a correctional nurse who worked in a hospital dialysis unit before becoming a correctional nurse with the Florida Department of Corrections says this in the department's recruitment brochure for healthcare professionals: "Correctional nursing has enabled me to grow personally and professionally as no other nursing experience has. There is no comparison." The department's job description for correctional nurses includes assessment of patient health problems and needs, the development and implementation of nursing care plans, case management, and the education of patients about health maintenance and disease prevention. The American Correctional Association has taken a significant step toward enhancing the image of correctional nursing by developing a certification program for nurses and managers. Becoming certified demonstrates that a nurse has mastered the body of knowledge required for his/her specialty.