CASE STUDY
The following are real examples of experiences encountered by prison nurses. They reflect the complex challenges encountered when working in a prison environment.
Please read the scenarios below and reflect on how you would feel and react if you were the correctional nurse in this situation. What would you do?
*Critical issues relevant to each case will be highlighted*
Please read the scenarios below and reflect on how you would feel and react if you were the correctional nurse in this situation. What would you do?
*Critical issues relevant to each case will be highlighted*
Case #1 A prisoner is stabbed in the middle of the chest while outside in the courtyard. You are the nurse on duty and you rush to assist the prisoner to assess the situation and ensure that he/she does not sustain any further injuries. The prison security officer on duty refuses to
open the gate to allow you into the courtyard (Willmott, 1997) 15 minutes pass and the other officers have seemed to calm down the prisoners yet the security guard is still not letting you pass into the courtyard. By now the prisoner is suffering from excruciating pain and has lost a significant amount of blood. What would you do? |
Case #2A nurse who has worked in a prison for 33 years says she often has to put herself “on parole” and take time away because the stress of the job gets to be too much. She states, "It is not all bad, you get to see everything here like drug abuse, domestic violence. It’s the place where we have the opportunity to correct these problems." Do you believe that nurses in prisons really have the power to correct these problems when their access is so restricted and there are laws that place custody before care in prisons? |
Critical Issues- Nurses may be unable to meet their patient’s medical needs because in prisons custody comes first
- The nurses in these cases who appear to not be responding in an appropriate manner are actually doing what they have been instructed and trained to do. This is obviously a major conflict of interest for prison nurses as they have learned through their nursing degree about providing care and patient advocacy but behind prison wall, even in life threatening situations, custody still rules over care (FitzGerald, 2007). Additionally, access to inmates can be difficult because nurses have to work around, and be available during the time a client is out of their cell in order to treat them (Stamler & Yiu, 2012). - Nurses are often the first healthcare professional to assess and care for inmate suffering from infectious disease (Stamler & Yiu, 2012). - There are a variety of opportunities to develop nurse-led services for offender practicing nurses such as smoking cessation, healthy lifestyle, sexual health, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, just to name a few (Bennett et all, 2010). - Due to the high substance abuse users in facilities, treating withdrawal symptoms, varying in severity, is common (Stamler & Yiu, 2012) - Nurses working in correctional facilities receive a lot of professional autonomy, however, with autonomy comes a lot of independent work which is a concern for causing professional isolation and burnout (Stamler & Yiu, 2012). - The behaviour described in these cases would be considered negligent and unacceptable in a traditional nursing role. - Where is the line between punishing for prisoners past crimes and committing new crimes by denying care, and inflicting harm? - The nurse’s safety must also be considered in each of these cases. - Nurses can and do make a difference even with limited access. - The image below is one of shoes that an inmate made for the nurse from case #2 to show gratitude for her care. They are made from cigarette wrappings he collected and were a gift for her baby. |