What is Forensic Nursing: The Medical/Law DegreeIf you are a nurse and are ready for a more challenging career that will enable you to help victims of crime, you might want to consider becoming a forensic nurse. Forensic nursing is a medical practice that combines law and investigative techniques with nursing care. Such nurses help protect patients’ rights while assisting in their physical and emotional recovery from a violent crime. Schools Offering Online Career Courses:
Jobs in forensic nursing can be found in a wide variety of clinical settings. A forensic nurse might help with crime scene investigation or with collecting and analyzing evidence. The forensic nurse may also be called upon to testify in a trial; in fact, the value of forensic nurse testimony is becoming increasingly recognized in our legal system because these professionals know how to collect and preserve evidence while treating a wound. This is extremely important as important evidence is often destroyed through tradition medical practice. Forensic nurses not only have to be versed in medical practice and criminal investigation, but also need to understand human psychology. Patients, whether victim or alleged criminal, are not always willing to discuss details of an event and may even react with hostility when questioned. The forensic nurse has to remain cool under pressure and must know how to address patients in a non-threatening manner so as to acquire as much information as possible. Forensic nursing has evolved to the point that there are now several specialties to choose from when selecting an education program that will give you the precise forensic nurse training you want. Just a few of these specialties are: correctional nursing, sexual assault nursing, gerontology specialization, nurse coroner, legal nurse consultation, and community education. These choices are just the beginning. You might work exclusively with abused children, troubled teenagers, or victims of drug abuse. Regardless of the segment of society that interests you the most, there is bound to be a place for a forensic nurse. The starting salary for a forensic nurse is in the 50,000 per year range. With experience you may eventually earn well over six figures. Forensic nurses usually earn more than RNs because of the additional education. Furthermore, it is possible to work on a case basis—sort of like a freelancer—and choose the cases you want. Of course, you will need to work with some medical or legal facility initially to become known and to acquire enough experience to justify hanging out your own shingle. |
