Forensic Science for Nurses

The first legislation governing the field of medicine and forensic is generally accepted to be over 4200 years ago <circa 1790 BC> by the king of Babylon, Hammurabi.  To see the actual basalt stele of the Law Code of Hammurabi, king of Babylon (1792 – 1750 BC) in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, go to this link:   http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/law-code-hammurabi-king-babylon.

Did you know that Forensic Nurses Week is November 7th to 11th, 2011? Forensic Nurses Week is organized by the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN), a nursing association representing over 3,000 registered nurses, death investigators, and other forensic medical professionals. This year’s forensic nursing focus is violence prevention.

U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan recently introduced the Violence Against Women Health Initiative. Hagan states, “The rates of violence and abuse in our country are astounding and unacceptable, and domestic violence has a significant impact on our country’s health, costing our system over $8.3 billion annually. This bill will streamline efforts to prevent and respond to domestic partner violence.”  Read about Hagan’s bill on Violence Against Women Health Initiatives.

Senator Hagan’s effort is one of many from individuals who are committed to standing against violence. During Forensic Nurses week, health care professionals will be raising awareness by spreading the word about Forensic Nursing, educating their colleagues about the practice, and wearing lilac: the designated color of Forensic Nursing.  How are you celebrating Forensic Nurses Week?

Question: Can you shake a baby to death?

Answer: Bio-mechanical engineers have raised doubts if it’s possible to shake a baby to death.

For more information: http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/new-evidence-on-shaken-baby-syndrome/?ref=forensicscience

Question: What organization offers support to family survivors of mass causalities?

Answer: The American Red Cross offers an integrated family assistance center.

Additional Resource: Family assistance center set up to assist at the US Airways crash in New York, http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.94aae335470e233f6cf911df43181aa0/?vgnextoid=abd70628b1cde110VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD

Volunteering for disaster support requires preparation. The nurse prepares to offer support for future disasters by becoming involved in community disaster planning, state emergency management, and hospital disaster protocols.

Additional Resource: Volunteer for the American Red Cross at http://www.redcross.org/en/volunteertime.

Information to volunteer locally can be found online at the Emergency Management Center in your county. Search online for links. This link is to an example for Brevard County, Florida: http://embrevard.com/vol_home.cfm.

“When Forensic Nurses are involved in the treatment of a sexual assault victim, there is typically better collaboration with law enforcement, higher reporating rates, better documentation ofthe crime, accurate forensic evidence collection, and more successful prosecutions of the assailants.”  Joseph Biden, Vice President, United States

“When Forensic Nurses are involved in the treatment of a sexual assault victim, there is typically better collaboration with law enforcement, higher reporating rates, better documentation ofthe crime, accurate forensic evidence collection, and more successful prosecutions of the assailants.”  Joseph Biden, Vice President, United States

Do you have any other great quotes to share?

The first legislation governing the field of medicine is generally accepted to be over 4200 years ago by the king of Babylon, Hammurabi.

Additional resource: For more information and to see the actual basalt stele of the Law Code of Hammurabi, king of Babylon (1792 – 1750 BC) in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, go to this link http://www.louvre.fr/ and seach for the Law Code of Hammurabi.

Do you have information or websites related to this topic to share?

Forensic public health addresses biological and environmental threats to the health and safety of the community. It is one of the 8 practices areas for forensic nurses.

Additional resource: For more information regarding information for the healthcare professional on public health issues and the Center for Disease Prevention (CDC) follow this link: http://www.cdc.gov/CDCForYou/public_health_professionals.html.

Do you have information and/or a website link to share regarding the nurse practice area forensic public health you would like to share?

The eight practice areas of forensic nursing are:

• Interpersonal violence
• Emergency and trauma
• Forensic mental health
• Correctional health
• Legal nurse consulting
• Patient care facilities issues
• Public health and safety
• Death investigation

Additional resource: For more information on forensic nursing, read through the IAFN website. Follow this link: http://www.iafn.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=137.