NCJ Number
139290
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 54 Issue: 7 Dated: (October 1992) Pages: 92,94- 95
Date Published
1992
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Health care providers working in correctional settings face ethical dilemmas regarding their role, because they are responsible not only to the inmates who are their patients but also to the correctional administrators who have responsibility for prison security.
Abstract
Therefore, they may be required to decide whether to comply with a warden's request to perform a body cavity search of an inmate believed to be hiding a gun in the rectum. Prison administrators and health professionals come from different occupational cultures, resulting in differing perspectives regarding their main responsibilities. Three principles should be used to determine the responsibilities of health care professionals. First, they must have the necessary resources and latitude they need to perform their jobs. Second, they should avoid enlisting in or being conscripted into activities that are not required as part of health care. Third, while they should strive to be independent of the prison's incarcerative function, they must defer to rules and procedures intended to further institutional security. These principles suggest that wardens must find alternate ways to find a hidden firearm. Health professionals should provide medical attention related to the weapon only if the inmate requests it, but should not return a discovered weapon to the inmate. 1 reference