The Duties Of A Forensic Nurse
One of the up and coming careers for nurses is a job in forensic science. More and more nurses are looking into forensic nursing jobs both nationally and internationally. This is the newest field that is recognized by the American Nurses Association and is known as the “application of nursing science to public legal proceedings” by the International Association of Forensic Nurses. Forensic nurses may provide care to a victim of a crime such as a rape victim. The forensic nurse examines the victim and then collects the evidence from the victim. The evidence that is collected goes to the police to be processed.
Some of the other jobs that you might consider with forensic nursing would be Nurse coroner/Death Investigator, Forensic Clinical Nurse Specialist, Sexual Assault Examiner, Forensic Gerontology Specialist, Correctional Nursing Specialist, A Legal Nurse Consultant or a Forensic Psychiatric Nurse. There are so many exciting paths you can take with a career in Forensic Nursing.
The job of a forensic nurse is a very important roll as he or she is trained to recognize, observe and collect evidence that will hold up for legal purposes. The forensic nurse can play many roles throughout the medical and legal fields. This type of nurse can be called upon to be an expert witness in a court of law to testify their knowledge of the case. It has been said that they help by being the “bridge between the criminal justice system and the health care system.” It seems that the main specialty for a forensic nurse is sexual assault with medical-legal counseling, forensic psychiatric nursing, and death investigation coming in close behind.
When you are in school for Forensic Nursing you will take such classes as perpetrator theory, victimology, forensic mental health, criminology, criminal justice and interpersonal violence. Nurses in training work closely under the supervision of a forensic nurse or doctor to be sure that they get the most out of the training that they can. There are actually 4 ways to get the training needed for a forensic nurse. There are certification programs that are offered at universities that can help lead you to an undergraduate and even a graduate degree in forensics. There are also continuing education classes that you can take for the renewal of your license. You can always go for School of Nursing graduate or undergraduate elective course in this area. Lastly you can go for the formal degree of Masters of Science Nursing Degree where you can do an internship at such places as a shelter for victims or possible a forensics crime lab. Your options are virtually limitless.
This is definitely an exciting career path to go with that will keep you on your toes. If you are looking for something different to do with your nursing career then why not explore the vast field of forensics. You will be able to work right along side with the law to help bring victims the peace of mind that their assailant has been brought to justice.
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