For twenty-one years of my professional life, I worked as a forensic nurse,
providing sexual assault services to both child and adult victims of sexual assault.
In April of 1990, the city and county of San Francisco sent a group of nurses
to Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz, California where two pioneers in the field,
Sherry Arndt and Sandra Goldstein provided a forty hour course teaching us
the specifics of adult evidence collection and the myriad components of sexual
assault care. We heard from advocacy, the crime lab, law enforcement, attorneys,
judges, and victims themselves. It was all a bit overwhelming, to say the least.
What was even more overwhelming were the statistics. On the RAINN
( Rape and Incest National Network ) website today, I read the following:
every two minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted.60% of
sexual assaults are not reported to the police. Approximately 2/3 of
assaults are committed by someone known to the victim.
When I began doing the work, nurses were relatively new in the business
of providing sexual assault care. In 1992, I was one of a group of 72 nurses
that met in Minnesota to form the International Association of Forensic
Nurses. Today that organization has over 3000 members in 24 countries!
Partly because of the work of that organization, the American Nurses
Association officially recognized forensics as an official nursing speciality
in 1995.
In spite of setting standards and ongoing education, providing care to
victims of sexual assault is still very difficult. Why is that? In no other area
are victims of crime treated so horribly. A rape victim's credibility is met
with doubt when she reports. She is often made to feel at fault for what
happened to her. "Why were you wearing that short skirt?" "How come
you were out till 2AM?" "You had HOW MANY drinks?"
There is a wonderful organization which has always been a tremendous
help to me: EVAW ( End Violence Against Women International )
Today is the last day of the first "Forensic Nurse Week" ever. It will take place annually the second week of November. This is very exciting for all of us in the profession. When I began working in the field in July of 1987, we were not even officially recognized as a specialty in nursing!
Many people are completely unaware of forensic nursing. Just what is it? I will share with you this definition directly from my organization, the International Association of Forensic Nurses, of which I was a founding member ( www.iafn.org ):
"Forensic Nursing is the application of nursing science to public or legal proceedings; the application of the forensic aspects of health care combined with the bio-psycho-social education of the registered nurse in the scientific investigation and treatment of trauma and/or death of victims and perpetrators of abuse, violence, criminal activity and traumatic accidents.
The forensic nurse provides direct services to individual clients, consultation services to nursing, medical and law related agencies, and expert court testimony in areas dealing with trauma and/or questioned death investigative processes, adequacy of services delivery, and specialized diagnoses of specific conditions as related to nursing."
Also, the International Association of Forensic Nurses has listed the various areas in which forensic nurses work:
I came into the field as the result of an accident. I had previously worked in psychiatry, both adult and child, or the operating room, alternating between the two. After a fall in the OR, which resulted from slipping on hydraulic fluid that had leaked from an orthopedic table, which ultimately resulted in my having extensive back surgery and being disabled for a year and a half, my surgeon felt it would be unsafe for me to resume OR duties or to work in psychiatry. The Child and Adolescent Sexual Abuse Resource Center was advertising for an on call RN to cover cases and I applied. The rest is history.
When the city decided to train nurses to do adult sexual abuse exams, which was a half time position with benefits, I applied and was hired there, also retaining my on call work for CASARC. I found the work very exciting and exacting and my colleagues in the profession were always willing to help, in any way possible.
While there were programs of sexual assault nurse examiners in the U. S. since 1976, it was not until 1992 that 72 nurses met in Minneapolis, MN, called together by Linda E. Ledray, RN, Ph.D., SANE-A, FAAN, Director, SANE-SART Resource Service, MMRF, Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the only time in my life that I was in the right place at the right time.
We spent two days, and long into the night, deciding on our name, our goals, and talked about our dreams. I recall, fondly, staying up almost until dawn, in the University of Minnesota dorm, with the pioneers in forensic nursing, such as Ann Burgess, Virginia Lynch, and Pat Speck and many more - 72 of us. We agreed to hold an annual scientific assembly and set a date for our next meeting, to be held in my own home state of California.
Just a few years later, the American Nurses Association recognized forensic nursing as an official specialty and, not long after, our newly established forensic nursing certification board offered the first specialty exam for adult sexual assault nurse examiner certification. I very anxiously sat for that exam and proudly was able to write SANE-A, after the RN following my name.
At our scientific assembly in 1996, when our founding president, Virginia Lynch, handed over the gavel, I read a poem, "The Forensic Nurse" that I had written to honor her and all of my colleagues inf our International Association of Forensic Nurses. This specialty and that membership in IAFN has been the most wonderful aspect of my nursing career. It has defined me as a nurse professional and I feel I have done the most good in this specialty for an often overlooked population. I would encourage all nurses to consider forensic nursing as their area of specialization
On this last day of our first ever Forensic Nurse Week, I want to say thank you to so many. I won't and can't name you all personally but you know who you are - my wonderful colleagues and mentors, friends and fellow forensic nurses who have been there for me, every step of the way for my entire twenty-two years in the field. I am blessed to have had you in my life. I thank God daily for putting me in the right place at the right time! May you all continue in the work with great blessings.
The Forensic Nurse
At the dawn of a new millennium, there has evolved a need,
For a new group of nurse professionals, a pioneering breed,
On the cutting edge of nursing, to fight crime's vicious curse,
Health care responds to violence, in the role of forensic nurse.
The tasks are many and varied, each sharing a common thread,
A search for truth and justice as this specialty forges ahead.
Fighting interpersonal violence, making note of multiple clues,
Learning to hear the unspoken, recognizing the tiniest bruise.
A commingling of nursing science, forensic science and the law,
From this vast wealth of knowledge, the forensic nurse must draw,
From sociology, and psychology, criminology and fields diverse,
An arsenal of such education, arms the forensic nurse.
Easing the trauma of rape, responding to a criminal scene,
Compassionate notification of kin, judging nothing as routine,
Dealing with drug and alcohol abuse, calling for a hearse,
Providing care for inmates, these are roles of the forensic nurse.
Facilitating organ donation, expert witness testimony in court,
Investigating work place injuries, writing a medicolgeal report,
Assisting in forensic research, providing specialized quality care,
Educating and consulting with colleagues, making the public aware.
From birth to death, and far beyond, there is a difference made,
By nurses who have undertaken to embrace a new crusade,
In the fight against crime and violence, helping in its reverse,
Is the commitment and dedication of the forensic nurse.
Carmen Henesy
Dedicated to founding president, Virginia Lynch,
and my colleagues
of the
International Association of Forensic Nurses
Copyright (c) 1996 by Carmen Henesy
All rights reserved.
