Using the Walden Library

Where can you find evidence to inform your thoughts and scholarly writing? Throughout your degree program, you will use research literature to explore ideas, guide your thinking, and gain new insights. As you search the research literature, it is important to use resources that are peer-reviewed and from scholarly journals. You may already have some favorite online resources and databases that you use or have found useful in the past. For this Discussion, you explore databases available through the Walden Library.

Note: Unless otherwise noted, initial postings to Discussions are due on or before Day 3, and response postings are due on or before Day 6. You are required to participate in the Discussion on at least three different days (a different day for main post and each response). It is important to adhere to the weekly time frame to allow others ample time to respond to your posting. In addition, you are expected to respond to questions directed toward your own initial posting in a timely manner.

Solution

Researching Scholarly Journals for Mental Health Nursing in the Correctional Setting

            Working within the unique settings of correctional health, whether it is in prison, detention centers, rehabilitation, or jail, has a dynamic that shares commonality with mental health nursing. Correctional nursing in the various types of facilities has many state and federal rules, regulations, and internal policies that direct the overall care of medical and psychiatric interventions. Mental health nursing in a correctional setting is challenging in providing immediate and critical care during a crisis. Referring to common terminology from correctional nursing, in the “free world,” better known as a citizen-based hospital or community care, there is direct and immediate intervention by having the freedom of time, space, and safety for a complete psychological assessment. The correctional institutions have boundaries of cell walls, metal doors, compound locations, and standardized distancing for safety. The article that I have chosen for this discussion provides an overview of the regulations set forth on a federal or state level to make clinical decisions while maintaining professional boundaries.

Discernment of Peer-Reviewed Articles

During my research to find an assessment of this direct issue, I utilized the ease of finding this journal article within the online Walden Library database (Oasis. n.d-a.). The article I have chosen for this discussion demonstrates the grandiosity of the issue related to the challenges and advocacy necessary for continuing care in the correctional setting. As Kucirka and Ramirez (2019) discussed, nurses are responsible for providing the best possible care by understanding mental health nursing standards for protecting all individuals regardless of their incarceration, behaviors, or choices for adherence to medical recommendations. This peer-reviewed article defines the foundational principles for this nursing occupation and how the scope of practice is evolving. The ease of finding and reviewing this article was a privilege within our Walden Library journal resources and EBSCO Discovery Service (Oasis, n.d-a.).

Resources available at Walden University

The advanced search availability simplifies the step-by-step process of finding the exact phrase and keywords associated with this topic. I enjoyed watching an instructional video tied within the search capacity and followed the instructions as designed (Oasis, n.d-b). The database extends beyond the national resources and includes international information based on corresponding subjects. Numerous scholarly articles, journal articles, and evidence-based research topics are directly related to the subject line of the scope of practice within correctional nursing, specifically mental health nursing. Using keywords within the search text was key to finding all the resources. I recommend using this topic line and enjoying the article referenced within this discussion.

Reference

Kucirka, B. G., & Ramirez, J. (2019). Challenges of treating mental health issues in correctional settings. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services, 57(7), 7-11. https://doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20190612-02Links to an external site.

Oasis. (n.d-a). Evaluating resources: Journals. Walden University. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/evaluating/resource-types/journalsLinks to an external site.

Oasis. (n.d.-b). Instructional media: Fundamentals of library research.Links to an external site. Walden University. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/instructionalmedia/researchfundamentals

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