Abstract
This article reports on a work group process that aimed to articulate the American Nurses Association (ANA) standards of correctional nursing practice in the Connecticut Department of Correction. When recruiting nurses for prison health care, few candidates possess enough experience in all of the related fields, and even experienced nurses are seldom prepared for the environment and its challenging population. A public—academic partnership provided a model for collaboration. Workforce development methods used in the United Kingdom for correctional nursing were combined with the ANA professional development model. An incremental implementation plan was designed. Orientation checklists and methods to assure entry-level baseline competencies, resource manuals, supervisor packets, and evaluation strategies were developed. The group process was as important as the products it developed. The pathway toward the future of the correctional nursing workforce begins with articulation of correctional nursing competencies.
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