Compassion in Corrections: The Struggle Between Security and Health Care

Many incarcerated individuals have chronic health conditions and mental health issues that have not been addressed by health care providers in years, if not decades. Patients in correctional settings are isolated from society and have reduced access to health care. Prison is a lonely scary place. How then do nurses impact the lives of these patients? It can be challenging given safety concerns, resource issues, and the bias of not only the nurse but also the security staff with whom they are working. Nurses have a responsibility to their patients to beneficence, justice, nonmaleficence, and autonomy. Compassion in corrections, though, is often viewed as naivete or weakness. Should these qualities be left out of corrections? By identifying one's own bias and asserting firm consistent practices, correctional nurses can set an example of unbiased care. The standards of care are the minimum required, but are they enough?