Nursing Students Behind Bars

With a large incarcerated patient population in the United States, there is a unique potential for clinical learning for undergraduate nursing students with this population.

The Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Nursing and VCU Health System have created a unique partnership in which baccalaureate nursing students complete their first clinical rotation on VCU Health System's Secure Care Unit (SCU). At the conclusion of their semester, baccalaureate students assigned to the SCU for the fundamentals clinical were asked to provide feedback on their experiences.

Both challenges and positive outcomes were identified by students who completed their first clinical rotation providing care to this unique population.

The formation of this relationship between the VCU School of Nursing and the VCU Health System's SCU is helping to meet patient, student, and clinical unit needs and also making a positive impact on the stakeholders involved. [.