Forensic Analysis : Forensic Nursing

One of the main reasons why there may not be more forensic nurses than there could be is that the topic of forensic nursing is not one that someone thinks about when they think about nursing in general. By protecting the evidence and serving as witnesses when needed forensic nurses truly serve a major role in bringing together medicine and law to get justice for the victim. “The investigation…prior to surgical intervention or other life saving measures is essential to preserve the image and description of injury before it is lost through a sea of wound cleansing antiseptic, insertion of instruments or suturing," Lynch said"(Waszak). It is important for both the clinicians and law enforcement that the evidence does not become tainted or lost. . In addition to providing care, forensic nurses act as multidisciplinary team members and work as consultants to other nursing and medical professionals and law enforcement. They receive advanced training in collecting and preserving evidence, treatment protocols, and legal proceedings and

As human overpopulation increases, there will be a lack of resources and basic necessities that will become scarcer elevating crime rates. The broad field of forensics has numerous jobs that specialize in a specific duty. It provides and analyzes evidence in laboratories or offices that helps both state and local police departments solve crimes. As technology advances it also aids in the advancement of forensics. Forensic Science Technicians are required to have a variety of distinctive skills to assist in criminal investigations.

Sexual assault and the Massachusetts Department of Public works with local rape crisis centers to gather statistical data so we can assess and know the facts and realities of rape in Massachusetts. While statistics do not tell the whole story of sexual assault, they can help us paint a picture of the problem. The forensic nurse has an integral part of this specific population’s victimization. A forensic nurse should have a basic knowledge of the type of offender the rapist can be. As a certified sexual assault investigator for Middlesex County I have investigated, collected evidence, arrested, testified and successfully aided in the prosecution and conviction of rapists. I will explore the definition of rape and criminal statutes related to the crime of rape, rape trauma syndrome, and some of the drugs a perpetrator uses to assist in commission of this crime and how the FN and the police share a different but equal role in prosecuting the offender.

To sum up last’s weeks article and bring the reader up to speed, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners are registered nurses who receive specialized training in the medical, forensic, and legal treatment of sexual assault victims (U.S. DOJ, 2013). Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners play a vital role in impacting the medical and legal outcomes of victims of sexual assault, sexual violence, and rape (Taylor, 2002). Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners are supported and considered the professionals of choice to conduct sexual assault exams by the American College of Emergency

Imagine the following scenario: A 43 year old male and his 41 year old wife have just finished celebrating their twentieth wedding anniversary at a local restaurant. The husband had a cocktail at the bar while waiting for the table, and then had a couple of glasses of wine with dinner. After dinner, the happy couple drive their vehicle home on a snow covered highway. The car begins to swerve on the ice and enters oncoming traffic and hits a semi cab head-on. After an extended extraction of the driver by paramedics, the driver is found to be unconscious, has multiple head lacerations, chest contusions from the steering wheel, and his left leg is bleeding profusely from a compound femur fracture. The female is conscious, in shock, and states that she is 36 weeks pregnant and has pain in her abdomen. Both victims are flown via helicopter to the nearest level 2 trauma center where 2 teams of emergency room doctors, trauma surgeons, respiratory therapists, x-ray technologists, phlebotomists, chaplains, social workers, and of course, trauma nurses, are waiting to assess the patients and provide life-saving care. This scenario is not the exception in a level 2 trauma care center of the emergency-room, it is the average situation that a trauma nurse will find his or herself in every day. Because of the fast paced situations that require split-second critical decisions, the advanced life support training that is required, and the often unrewarded care, a career in trauma

Forensic nurses may treat patients and individuals have been in crime sexual assault incidents, also they assist with findings of forensic of the collection of death investigations. Nursing can be physically healthcare topics related to Child Maltreatment, Intimate Partner Violence, and Sexual Assault/Abuse. The training allows medical professionals to receive and acquire the knowledge, skills, and competitive clinical forensic practice to improve the to research and collection of o domestic and to sexual violence in hospitals, health clinics, and health stations within

However, prosecutors can use forensic nurses’ expertise in several ways to support their cases, including: common patient presentations, mechanisms of injuries and wounds, absence of injury and other clinical prowess. Having multiple encounters with sexual assault victims, forensic nurses can identify and address issues such as delayed reporting and trauma reactions. They can possibly be able to testify about the cycle of violence, control issues and fatality indicators. Evaluating and documenting injuries are important knowledge for forensic nurses. As a witness, the SANE can advise the jury of the patient’s injury patterns and continuity of wounds on the assault victim’s record. With the absence of injuries, forensic nurses can explain on why this occurs and discusses other signs of injury that is not usually photographed (pain with palpitation). Lastly, besides being examiners, multiple SANEs have experience in trauma, gynecology, mental health, obstetrics, etc. Prosecutors should be willing to check the background of the nurses to determine if the jury can be

The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network state that every two minutes, someone is sexually assaulted in the United States. In 2007 there were 248,300 victims of sexual assault (US department of Justice).

This information will help investigators cluster the symptoms with a particular disease and rule out irrelevant information. The surveillance of the components gather in this step will put a perspective on the abnormal health events that are occurring on the outbreak timeline.

The Violence of Care: Rape Victims, Forensic Nurses, and Sexual Assault Intervention. NYU Press, 2014.

First and foremost as the clinician, an background description of forensic assessments should be discussed in order for understanding when discussing a specific assessment related to Ana’s case. Assessments could be used in all levels of criminal proceedings, starting with an evaluation of the clients’ level of capacity as well as evaluation of the clients’ competency to stand trial. Assessors should assess research findings that are concerning correlations between legally relevant behaviors and testing results. Generated hypotheses and test results should be confirmed a with third party data as well. Confirmation is important during this time because the client may unknowingly or knowingly present themselves in way that may help the legal

A Forensic Nurse needs a Bachelor’s Degree. They can also get their MSN Degree and/or a PHD. A Physician Assistant needs a Master’s degree. They both have recommended certifications. For example, a Forensic Nurse needs a SANE-A certification and an AFN-BC and must also pass the NCLEX. For a Physician assistant you need to pass the PANCE. They both have continuing education requirements. A Physician Assistant in a 6-year cycle must log their 100 CME credits online every two years and the recertification exam is required every 10 years. A Forensic Nurse is required to complete 30 hours every 2 years.

When arriving at a crime scene investigators must wear protective clothing, gloves and shoe covers they must use

The CSI Forensics Scientist Gil Grissom determines the manner of death by using a simulation dummy (Zuiker 2000). Later, he positively identifies a specific shard of glass obtained from the dead body to a champagne bottle in the hotel room (Zuiker 2000). Lastly, Grissom also questions and interrogates the criminal suspects at the end of the case (Zuiker 2000). In real life, the manner of death can only be determined by the forensics pathology (Jacques 2015). The specific type glass can be positively identified by Glass and tool marks expert using laboratory test such as Glass Refractive Index Measurement (Rudell 2016). Only a detective or investigator of that case can interrogate a suspect (Brown and Daveport 2012). The TV show wrongly describes

This paper discusses the different roles that are taken on by a forensic psychologist, and how those roles interact and affect each other and how the psychologist is about to do his/her job. It looks briefly at the history of the field. We discuss the forensic psychologist as the consultant, the therapist, the researcher, as well as the expert witness. This paper also discusses predicting dangerousness and whether or not an expert can predict dangerousness. Finally we look at conflicting roles and ethics in the field.