Summary: The research aims were to (a) explore how correctional facility nurses in Montana perceived the balance between the autonomy required in their field and their scope of practice rights, and (b) contrast the correctional nursing specialty from the more traditional nurse setting. Twenty percent of Montana correctional nurses surveyed said there are times where they simply have to work beyond their state scope of practice boundaries. Respondents were most likely to report that the greatest differences in nursing process related to assessment and interventions. Nurses emphasized their feelings of safety, noting that in this practice setting safety takes the highest priority. Participants also said that correctional nursing had a stigma compared to other specialties.
