The nursing field today offers many opportunities. One of the most rapidly developing areas of the nursing field is that of forensic nursing. Forensic nursing combines the medical aspects of nursing with the legal system. This could be in conjuntion with a crime or it could be in a civil matter such as worker’s compensation.
Some of the job descriptions within the forensic nursing field include Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, Legal Nurse Consultant, Forensic Clinical Nurse Specialist, Correctional Nurse, Forensic Psychiatric Nurse, Nurse Coroner and Nurse Death Investigator.
Just as nurses in general can work in many places of employment (acute care, doctor’s office, public health, home health, etc.) so can the forensic nurse.
For example, the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner could work in a hospital emergency room or in a free standing sexual assault clinic. The Legal Nurse Consultant could work in a traditional nursing job and do consulting on the side, or she could work full time for an attorney’s office.
Educational opportunities abound with respect to forensic nursing. A recent search on google revealed over 3 million “hits” for information related to forensic nursing education. The educational opportunities range from traditional classroom programs related to each type of forensic nursing specialties to online programs which give an excellent overview of many
aspects of forensic nursing from the comfort of your home.
Canyon College is now accepting applications for it’s Online Forensic Nursing Certification Program.
Forensic Nursing Chronicles 