Nursing professionals work in diverse roles across the justice landscape in the UK and across the globe, often working as part of wide-ranging multi-disciplinary teams, that include police officers, prison officers, probation staff and other health care professionals. The role of the nurse working in the justice system is often misunderstood, but it is a highly important field of nursing, caring for people who are often socially disadvantaged, and at their lowest and most vulnerable.

In October, I was delighted to join the 19th Biennial International Conference on the Nurse’s Role in the Criminal Justice System in Saskatchewan, Canada. I have been attending this conference as a delegate and occasional speaker since 2009 and, in more recent times, have been more closely involved as part of the planning committee.

This is the only conference I know of that places nursing staff working in health and justice settings at its centre. It takes place over three days, with the first day focussing on practice issues and the second and third days looking at professional development and support.

This year I was invited to deliver the closing keynote session following my doctoral research that explored the emotional labour of prison nurses, and the subsequent work I have been doing with prison health care providers both nationally and internationally to explore the challenges faced caring for prisoner patients.

Over the last year, along with prison health care colleagues in Central North West London NHS Trust, I have been developing a model for reflection to meet the needs of nurses working in prisons. I decided that this event would be an ideal opportunity to launch it whilst seeking some international perspectives on the model.

This model of reflection places human factors at the centre of the action, with nurses encouraged to consider how the systems within which they work in prisons may impact on their practice. Interest in this model has grown in the health and justice community, as there are no other models which have been developed for nurses working in the prison system.

Nursing roles in the justice system often don’t get enough focus which is why these opportunities are invaluable. At this conference, and many others I’ve attended, nurses spoke to me afterwards stating that they ‘felt heard’ for the first time.

I feel honoured to be that nurse leader who has ‘heard’ these nurses and by virtue of my role as a Professional Lead at the RCN, will continue to amplify their voice amongst the wider nursing community. Given the pressures nurses are facing in all areas of care, I believe it has never been more important for us to care for each other, and ourselves.