Resilience Rising in the Correctional Nursing Specialty
Despite the stresses and strains of the COVID-19 pandemic, this special issue on correctional nursing is released. It underscores the significance of nursing in correctional settings as demonstrated through the resilience of these authors and their efforts to continue to develop the evidence needed in clinical practice despite the added burden placed upon them in clinical environments and academia. As noted in the timely review of literature on moral distress and resilience of correctional nurses by Smith et al., nurses are challenged in their clinical work in correctional settings as we all shift into an uncertain future. Things will certainly not be the same.
The overall profession of nursing is restructuring to better meet future demands. Renewed emphasis is placed upon clinical and academic partnerships as discussed in two articles presented by Zucker et al. and Maruca et al. Only through these joint efforts can we stabilize the clinical workforce of the future. Evidence-based and evidence-informed nursing practices are disseminated by contributions of authors on a range of clinical topics: COVID care by Novacek et al., trauma-informed practices by Lehrer, care for incarcerated women by Baker, and of the elderly by Loeb. These articles provide insight into the diverse roles nurses play within correctional systems.
Correctional nurses, once considered invisible to the public and to other professionals because they serve patients who reside behind bars, are understanding more about their own practice. It has been a good year for this specialty. The strength of the profession has emerged with the development of the American Correctional Nurses Association and a revision of the American Nurses Association's Correctional Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice (2020), which included a proposed model for correctional nursing practice. Correctional nurses are participating in larger numbers on boards and in professional activities to form consensus about the future of nursing. They are claiming their place as leaders. We are fortunate to include an article by Clifton addressing development of leadership skills in the belief that each nurse has a role as a leader, whether in practice, education, or regulation.
We are proud and thankful to the National Commission on Correctional Health Care and JCHC for the opportunity to create a focused collection from correctional nurses.
Deborah Shelton, PhD, RN, NE-BC, CCHP
Guest Editor
ouracna@gmail.com
Reference
- American Nurses Association. (2020). Correctional nursing: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.).