Ethical dilemmas experienced by healthcare workers within juvenile detention centers

While doing research on the impact of  solitary confinement for children and teens, a topic of interest that was not included is the ethical dilemmas faced by healthcare workers.

 Doctors, nurses and mental health professionals all take a vow of nonmaleficence or "Do no harm", but instead to do their best to help, heal and rehabilitate the patients in their care. For the clinicians who choose to work with incarcerated youth, the line can begin to blur when these young people are subject to the torture of solitary confinement. 

 Many studies have  proven that solitary confinement is psychologically and emotionally damaging to young people. It can cause severe trauma that can linger for many years. For teens with a history of any level of mental illness it can be devastating, even exacerbating previous conditions. Many other teens who are incarcerated also have histories of abuse and neglect, which makes them more vulnerable to trauma.

  Everyday, healthcare workers are faced with the task of balancing the lives and well-being of the children they care for and instutional policies. This constitutes a serious ethical issue, and maybe even a crime. Clinicians are put in place in order to consistently assess the mental health and total well being of  these children, also assume the responsibility to advocate for them, stand up to injustice and be a voice for them during this difficult time. As healthcare workers they are considered mandatory reporters and are required by law to report any type of child abuse, neglect or maltreatment. " Reporting laws make no expectations for the location of the practice or of the circumstances of the care being provided in a state sanctioned facility. Almost every state includes emotional abuse as one type of reportable maltreatment"(Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law).
  Working as a healthcare professional with incarcerated youth is an extremely difficult and stressful job. One can only imagine the terrible heartbreaking things that are seen each day And the priority must be given to the young lives that they have taken a vow to help protect.
  According to Guidelines from the World Health Organization and the National Commission on Correctional Health care, they "Recommend that clinician play no role in clearing inmates for placement in solitary confinement but recommend that clinicians try to ensure that such inmates, once placed, are provided close oversight and appropriate care with particular attention to the increased risk of suicide" (Journal of American Academy of Psychiatry and Law)

Work cited
Clark, Andrew "Juvenile solitary confinement as a form of child abuse" The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law 9/2017, web, 11/2017