Fast Facts About Forensic Nursing: What You Need To Know

Helps nurses to enhance their forensic skills and apply them to their practice in all settings

This is a succinct yet comprehensive guide to the rapidly expanding specialty of forensics nursing. Exploring the forensic nurse’s role in the gamut of patient care settings, the book is distinguished by its easy-to-read content comprised of bulleted lists, tables, and figures; short chapters; and convenient pocket size. This up-to-date, evidence-based resource addresses all facets of forensics nursing, including legal and ethical issues, conducting interviews, trauma-informed care, delivering expert testimony, documenting injuries, and collecting and preserving evidentiary substances for Medico-Legal purposes.

The book encompasses the wide range of injury and assault cases requiring the collection of forensic evidence in preparation for a legal case. This includes different types of sexual assault and violence, child maltreatment, elder maltreatment, bullying, interpersonal violence, gunshot wounds, community violence, human trafficking, terrorist acts, and mass disasters. With supporting case scenarios, the book describes step-by-step how to collect evidence and the proper procedure for handing over evidence once it is collected. Also included are verbatim descriptions of actual experiences forensic nurses have had while testifying.

Key Features:

• Delivers broad content related to forensic nursing in easy-access Fast Facts style
• Helps users to retrieve information at a moment’s notice with short chapters, bulleted lists, tables, and figures, all packaged in a portable, pocket size
• Examines the forensic nurse’s role in all patient care settings
• Explores the legalities and ethics surrounding provision of health care to and collecting evidence from patients injured due to criminal activity.
• Covers the range of injury and assault cases requiring the collection of forensic evidence in preparation for a legal case

Meredith J. Scannell, PhD, MSN, MPH, CNM, SANE-A, CEN, is currently an assistant professor at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Institute of Health Professions and a staff nurse in the Center for Clinical Investigation and the Emergency Department at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.