The New Field Of Forensic Nursing Is An Exciting World

The type of medical practice that is just beginning to be recognized is the forensic nursing. This kind of specialization for nurses is providing an invaluable service to the police and the victims, especially in the area of sex-related cases by the nurses combining their expertise in health care and law enforcement. Practitioners of this field of nursing may treat the victims of violent crimes, help with crime scene investigation, or even work to assist the police and the authorities in catching crime suspects. Most forensic nurses are experts on sexual assaults so they are called SANE or Sexual Assault Nurse Examinees. In these cases, the forensic nurse’s job is to collect the evidence from the victim and give emotional support to the victim. The initial requirement for anyone who wants to be a forensic nurse is to be a registered nurse.



The next step to become a forensic nurse is to undergo a forensic nursing degree program, which is normally two years of graduate degree courses. You will receive a Master of Science in Nursing or MSN after your successful completion of this graduate degree. Some of the things that you will learn to do as an expert forensic nurse is to identify, collect and safeguard evidence during the act of treating the wounds of the patients. You can even choose the area of specialization that you want to concentrate on as a forensic nurse: correctional, sexual assault, gerontology, and nurse coroner and death investigation. There are more credentials required, however, if you want to be a SANE nurse. You must have been working as a licensed RN for two years and have your MSN to be a forensic nurse certified as an SANE.



Every three years, these certifications for forensic nursing must be renewed. There are currently not a lot of job opportunities available for forensic nurses since this field of forensics is still very new. Although this is considered essential, not all hospitals hire nurses who are specifically trained in the field of forensics. You may be asked to be on call when a forensic nurse practitioner may be required if you are a licensed nurse working at a hospital and is at the same time certified as a forensic nurse.



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