How to become a Forensic Nurse
Forensic nursingis considered to be one possible step beyond a registered nurse. However, a forensic nurse is given specific responsibilities that are not normally given to your registered nurses at private clinics, public hospitals, etc. Those that take on the profession of forensic nurses work closely with those in law enforcement. Forensic nurses take the call when it comes to dealing with crime scenes, ongoing cases, etc. One solid example, in fiction of how forensic nurses operate, would be in the popular drama series on NBC called “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” in which the officers and medical staff deal in sexually-based crimes. However, this sub-field of nursing is relatively recent. While this is recently recent, there will be the growing need for forensic nurses.
The profession is split up into several differentfields, according to All Nursing Schools' page: correctional nursing (dealing in jails/prisons/correctional facilities), sexual assault nursing (providing care for victims of sexual assault), gerontology nursing (nursing skills to investigate elderly abuse), nurse investigator (using nursing skills in regards to finding circumstances leading to unusual or violent death), nurse coroner (using nursing skills at the scene of the crime), psychiatric nurses (dealing with offenders with social, psychological, or behavior disorders), legal nurse consulting (law and medicine), and community education.
There are several routes to being a forensic nurse depending on what school you go to. However, you have to become a registered nurse first. Afterward, you have to go into the graduate program to get your Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree which can take up to two and a half years.
But, you will need to get additional credentials if you want to become a certified SANE-A (sexual assault nurse examiner). In cases in which sexual assault cases involve children, you will need a SANE-P certificate. SANE-A is usually for adolescents to adults while SANE-P is for children as the “P” means pediatric. If you wish to go into that type of forensic nursing, the minimum time to be a registered nurse is three years. Every three years, both certifications have to be renewed.
The reason that SANE-A and SANE-P nurses require extra credentials is because additional training is needed when dealing with victims of rape and sexual abuse. When dealing with those victims, there are many factors at play. In fiction, one can simply refer to Law and Order: SVU.
The road to being a forensic nurse is simple; but, simple does not mean quick and easy. This is a professional that an already registered nurse may want to expand into. If this is the field of nursing you want to go into, you have to do yourresearchon whichnursing schoolsoffer such degrees. Keep in mind that each nursing school has its own set of criteria.
