Forensic Nursing The New Breed Of Nurses

W ith the continuing rise        trial would make it a lot less     in crime rates, forensic      stressful for the victim.          nursing is quickly                                               becoming a popular part of the        Because forensic nursing is such   American judicial system.             a new and growing specialty, it    Forensic nursing is one of the        offers great opportunities for     newest forms of forensic sciences     recent nursing graduates and       recognized by the American Nurses     experienced RN s looking for a     Association. The new field            career change.                     combines the health care                                                 profession with the judicial          In 1992, approximately seventy     system.                               nurses gathered together in                                              Minneapolis, Minnesota as the      Nurses trained in forensic            first national convention for      nursing are needed to quickly and     sexual assault nurses. This        appropriately gather evidence         convention led to the founding of  that can be used in a court of        the IAFN, the International        law. Along with gathering             Association of Forensic Nurses.    forensic information, they also                                          testify in trials of their            Their mission statement was the    jurisdictions.                        concept of nurses willing to                                             devote their energy and resources  The appeal of forensic nursing is     to develop a role in nursing that  mainly with victims of violence.      can have a impact on the future    Multiple people are seeing            of forensic science and the        victims, social workers, doctors,     health care industry.              the police etc. This can be hard                                         on the victim. Having one expert      Forensic nurses practice in many   that can do everything from start     diverse fields. They range from    to finish including going to          nurses who specialize in domestic  violence, emergency trauma, and       coroner s offices, medical         sexual assault nurse examiners        examiner s offices, insurance      (SANE s), witch SANE s are often      companies, and psychiatric         the entry point into forensic         facilities.                        nursing. Forensic nurses may also                                        serve as legal nurse consultants      Another opportunity is working     or attorneys.                         independently on a per job basis                                         to all of these employers -        The education for forensic            starting a forensic nursing        nursing vary. Degree programs are     business.                          available in forensic nursing but                                        are not required for entry into       The industry of forensic nursing   the profession. Certification         is only getting more and more      courses required for the SANE         attractive to nurses that really   program is a good start.              want to make a difference in the                                         community around them. It s an     The employers of forensic nursing     opportunity for them to help       specialists vary as well. They        victims of violence and helping    include acute healthcare              the perpetrators of violence to    facilities, correctional              get help.                          institutions, county prosecutors,      Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com Larry Ford is the webmaster of Forensic Nursing Zone, a website dedicated to the new specialty of forensic nursing. You can find it at www.forensicnursingzone.com/