The new and evolving specialty of forensic nursing encompasses providing care to victims of crime, collecting evidence, and providing health care services within the prison system. The International Association of Forensic Nurses is the professional organization for the field.
Specialty areas within forensic nursing include Forensic Clinical Nurse Specialist, Forensic Nurse Investigator, Nurse Coroner/Death Investigator, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, Legal Nurse Consultant, Forensic Gerontology Specialist, Forensic Psychiatric Nurse, and Correctional Nursing Specialist.
The term forensic nursing was officially coined in 1992 when about 70 nurses gathered in Minneapolis for what was billed as the first national convention for sexual assault nurses. It was thrilling to meet with others doing the same work and enlightening to learn about the issues they were grappling with, Seneski said. That led to the founding of the IAFN.
