Skip to main content
Chamberlain University, College of Nursing and Health Professionals
Menu

Main navigation redesign

  • Programs
    • Bachelor's Programs
      • Nursing
        • Bachelor Of Science in Nursing (BSN)
        • Bachelor of Science in Nursing Online
        • RN to BSN Option
      • BSN Campus Locations
        • Phoenix, AZ
        • Irwindale, CA
        • Sacramento, CA
        • Jacksonville, FL
        • Miramar, FL
        • Atlanta, GA
        • Stockbridge, GA
        • Addison, IL
        • Chicago, IL
        • Tinley Park, IL
        • Indianapolis, IN
        • New Orleans, LA
        • Troy, MI
        • St. Louis, MO
        • Las Vegas, NV
        • Charlotte, NC
        • North Brunswick, NJ
        • Cleveland, OH
        • Columbus, OH
        • Houston, TX
        • Irving, TX
        • Pearland, TX
        • San Antonio, TX
        • Tysons Corner, VA
    • Master’s Programs
      • Nursing
        • Master Of Science in Nursing (MSN)
        • Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner
        • Family Nurse Practitioner
        • Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
        • Graduate Certificates
        • RN to MSN Options
      • Healthcare Professions
        • Master of Public Health
        • Master of Physician Assistant
        • Master of Social Work
    • Doctorate Programs
      • Nursing
        • Doctor of Nursing Practice
    • Certificates
      • Nursing
        • Nursing Certificates
      • Healthcare Professions
        • Public Health Certificate
  • Admission
    • Resources
      • Academic Calendar
      • Academic Catalog
      • Curriculum Plans
    • Become a Student
      • Military Information
      • Transfer Students
  • Financial Aid
    • Tuition & Financial Aid
      • Tuition and Expenses
      • Types of Financial Assistance
      • Financial Aid Forms
      • Partnerships
    • Scholarships and Grants
      • Scholarships
      • Grants
      • Work Study
      • Loans
      • Educational Healthcare Partners
  • Why Chamberlain
    • Our Story
      • History
      • Our Vision
      • Chamberlain Care
      • Diversity and Inclusion
    • About Chamberlain
      • Leadership and Faculty
      • Campus Locations
      • Newsroom
      • Blog
      • Accreditation
      • Student Consumer Information
      • Alumni

Mobile Secondary Navigation

  • Apply
  • Request More Info
  • Request More Info
  • Call
  • Apply
  • Request Info
  • Request Info

Mobile Utility Navigation

  • Current Students
  • Prospective Students
  • Transfers
  • Military
  • Alumni
  • Partners
  • Employers

Top Utility Navigation

  • Current Students
  • Information For
    • Current Students
    • Prospective Students
    • Transfers
    • Military
    • Alumni
    • Partners
    • Employers
  • Chat
  • 877.751.5783
Chamberlain University, College of Nursing and Health Professionals

Main navigation redesign

  • Programs
    • Bachelor's Programs
      • Nursing
        • Bachelor Of Science in Nursing (BSN)
        • Bachelor of Science in Nursing Online
        • RN to BSN Option
      • BSN Campus Locations
        • Phoenix, AZ
        • Irwindale, CA
        • Sacramento, CA
        • Jacksonville, FL
        • Miramar, FL
        • Atlanta, GA
        • Stockbridge, GA
        • Addison, IL
        • Chicago, IL
        • Tinley Park, IL
        • Indianapolis, IN
        • New Orleans, LA
        • Troy, MI
        • St. Louis, MO
        • Las Vegas, NV
        • Charlotte, NC
        • North Brunswick, NJ
        • Cleveland, OH
        • Columbus, OH
        • Houston, TX
        • Irving, TX
        • Pearland, TX
        • San Antonio, TX
        • Tysons Corner, VA
    • Master’s Programs
      • Nursing
        • Master Of Science in Nursing (MSN)
        • Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner
        • Family Nurse Practitioner
        • Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
        • Graduate Certificates
        • RN to MSN Options
      • Healthcare Professions
        • Master of Public Health
        • Master of Physician Assistant
        • Master of Social Work
    • Doctorate Programs
      • Nursing
        • Doctor of Nursing Practice
    • Certificates
      • Nursing
        • Nursing Certificates
      • Healthcare Professions
        • Public Health Certificate
  • Admission

    Admission

    Our team is with you every step of the way, providing the information you need to make the decisions that best serve you.

    • Resources
      • Academic Calendar
      • Academic Catalog
      • Curriculum Plans
    • Become a Student
      • Military Information
      • Transfer Students
    smiling doctor with a young child
    Find My Program

    Find the path to your healthcare career goal.

  • Financial Aid

    Financial Aid

    Get support as you navigate paying for your education. Request information to connect with our admission team to discuss your financial options.

    • Tuition & Financial Aid
      • Tuition and Expenses
      • Types of Financial Assistance
      • Financial Aid Forms
      • Partnerships
    • Scholarships and Grants
      • Scholarships
      • Grants
      • Work Study
      • Loans
      • Educational Healthcare Partners
    smiling doctor with a young child
    Find My Program

    Find the path to your healthcare career goal.

  • Why Chamberlain

    Why Chamberlain

    Chamberlain University has a 130-year history preparing extraordinary nursing graduates and healthcare professionals. 

    • Our Story
      • History
      • Our Vision
      • Chamberlain Care
      • Diversity and Inclusion
    • About Chamberlain
      • Leadership and Faculty
      • Campus Locations
      • Newsroom
      • Blog
      • Accreditation
      • Student Consumer Information
      • Alumni
    smiling doctor with a young child
    Find My Program

    Find the path to your healthcare career goal.

Secondary Header Navigation

  • Apply
  • Request More Info
  • Request More Info
  • Call
  • Apply
  • Request Info
  • Request Info

Featured

nurse
The Importance of The DAISY Awards in…
Nurse resting with is eyes closed and sitting down with his coffee
Prioritizing Self-Care and Compassion:…
"Public Health Week | Anne-Marie Coleman, MPH Faculty
Meet Anne-Marie Coleman: Inspiring…

Tags

Browse articles by category
Alumni
Campus News
Careers
Health Professions
Nursing Today
Tips for Students

Share

Blog Social Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Home / Blog / Careers / 5 Things to Know about Correctional Nursing

5 Things to Know about Correctional Nursing

April 10, 2014 by Danielle Logacho
correctional

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, around 2.3 million men and women are incarcerated in U.S. jails and prisons. It’s a population with complex and diverse healthcare needs – injuries, chronic conditions, even palliative care.

Providing nursing care to this group of patients, and in this setting, is not a job for everyone, said Lorry Schoenly, PhD, RN, a correctional nursing specialist and visiting professor in Chamberlain’s MSN program. However, for the right nurse, it can also be extremely satisfying and rewarding specialty.

Here are five things to know about correctional nursing:

1. A largely autonomous practice

Correctional nurses have the potential to make a big difference in the lives of their patients. That’s because in many cases, nurses are the first (and sometimes only) healthcare provider an inmate sees.

Nurses make the initial assessment and decide what treatment to provide, based on their scope of practice. Nurses also make the call about whether the inmate needs to see the dentist or a doctor, or go to the hospital.

“As a correctional nurse,” said Dr. Schoenly, “you really, really need to know your stuff. You also need to be very aware of practice boundaries.”

2. Unique patient population, unique environment

A large prison may have a full staff of doctors, nurses and dentists. A county jail may have a solitary nurse on duty.

No matter the size of the facility, there is still one stark difference between correctional nursing and other specialties – security.

In a jail or prison setting, security informs many of nurses’ interactions with their patients. For example, even something as basic as extending sympathy to an ill or injured patient needs to be done in a thoughtful, deliberate way.

“In a nursing home, nurses can show empathy through personal touch,” said Dr. Schoenly. “That would not be appropriate in a correctional setting. You need to be empathetic while maintaining boundaries and following security measures.”

3. Generalists wanted

In a correctional setting, nurses deal with a wide range of chronic and acute medical conditions. In a single day, for example, a nurse could treat everything from TB infections to broken bones to mental health issues.

“It’s soup to nuts of nursing care,” said Dr. Schoenly.

In addition to having a broad nursing knowledge base, correctional nurses also need flexibility and the ability to juggle multiple priorities. Because of that, many nurse managers in prison systems say that nurses with an ER background often make a good fit.

4. The challenges

According to Dr. Schoenly, the biggest ethical and professional challenge in correctional nursing is maintaining a therapeutic mindset. She calls it “the friction between care and custody.”

“The worldview of law enforcement can sometimes be that the inmates are bad people who need to be contained,” she explained. “When you’re surrounded by people who see inmates that way, it’s easy to become cynical and adopt that mindset, instead of taking the view that ‘I’m a healthcare provider, and I provide care to people in need, no matter who they are or what they did.’”

Another challenge is being objective and realistic about the patient population.

“Not all inmates are manipulative, but some are,” said Dr. Schoenly. Nurses who are not self-aware, or who are emotionally vulnerable themselves, can potentially be drawn into a scam or other illegal situation.

5. The rewards

Despite the numerous challenges, said Dr. Schoenly, correctional nursing can be a satisfying specialty – one where nurses can go home at the end of the day feeling that they served as an advocate for a vulnerable patient.

“Many of us entered the nursing profession to help those in need,” she said. “I can’t think of a needier patient population than those in correctional facilities.”

Want to learn more? Here are some documentaries about the correctional healthcare system to check out: Angola Prison Hospice: Opening the Door and the Oscar-nominated Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall. You can also read Dr. Schoenly’s blog at correctionalnurse.net.

By Danielle Logacho

More from Careers

View all >
nurse
The Importance of The DAISY Awards in Nursing
Read more
chamberlain conversations with Karen Cox, president of chamberlain university
Chamberlain Conversations – Health System Invests in…
Read more
family nurse practitioner works with two patients
Family Nurse Practitioner Jobs and How to Find Them
Read more
what_to_expect_fnp
What to Expect in Chamberlain’s MSN-FNP Program
Read more
Show more >

Request More Information

To receive the Chamberlain University Program Guide, including associated career paths, please select a program of study.

Chamberlain University, College of Nursing and Health Professionals

Secondary Footer Navigation

  • Apply
  • Request More Info
  • Request More Info
  • Call
  • Apply
  • Request Info
  • Request Info

Student Portal Login

Main Campus
Addison Campus
1221 North Swift Road
Addison, IL 60101 

National Management Offices
500 W. Monroe St, Suite 1300
Chicago, IL 60661

All Campus Locations
Contact

Footer Menu Column 1

  • Online Programs
  • Master of Physician Assistant Studies
  • Alumni Association
  • Chamberlain Marketplace
  • Military
  • Leadership
  • Catalog & Viewbook

Footer Menu Column 2

  • Student Portal
  • Student Consumer Info
  • Accreditation
  • Parent Organization
  • CA Performance Fact Sheets
  • CA BPPE Annual Report
  • CA BPPE Website

Footer Menu Column 3

  • Careers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Online Cookie Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Terms of Use
  • Accessibility
  • Student Disability Services
  • Office of Equity and Access

Footer Social Media Navigation

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

2022 Chamberlain Universtiy LLC. All rights reserved.

Footer Menu Line 1

  • Online Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Terms of Use
  • *140,000 Chamberlain students, alumni and faculty

    † Chamberlain University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (www.hlcommission.org), an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. The baccalaureate degree program in nursing, master’s degree program in nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice program and post-graduate APRN certificate program at Chamberlain University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, ccneaccreditation.org. The Chamberlain University Doctor of Nursing Practice (delivered via distance education) is accredited by the National League for Nursing Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (NLN CNEA) located at 2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20037 (202-909-2526). Chamberlain University’s Master of Public Health Program is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health, www.ceph.org. For the most updated accreditation information, visit chamberlain.edu/accreditation. Chamberlain University’s Master of Social Work degree program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education’s Commission on Accreditation, www.cswe.org. The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. has granted Accreditation-Provisional status to the Chamberlain University Physician Assistant Program. 

    Certified to Operate by SCHEV. 

    To report unresolved complaints to the Illinois Board of Higher Education visit their webpage at https://complaints.ibhe.org/ or by mail to 1 N. Old State Capitol Plaza, Suite 333, Springfield, IL 62701-1377. View Chamberlain's complaint process.

    Chamberlain University confers online degrees from its Main Campus in Addison, IL.

    Chamberlain University is a member of Adtalem Global Education Inc. www.adtalem.com
    ©2023 Chamberlain University LLC. All rights reserved.