Jump to a Section

History of Forensic Nursing

Forensic Nursing is a relatively new field in nursing. The Term "Forensic Nursing" didn't even originate until the early 1990's. It was born out of a conference in St. Paul Minnesota in 1992 when a relatively small group of about 70 nurses got together for the first ever national convention of sexual assault nurses. It quickly became evident to the attendees about how much they had in common with each other and that many of them shared similar problems at their own centers.

Forensic Nursing Defined

A Forensic nurse is a nurse with specialized training in forensic evidence collection, criminal procedures, legal testimony expertise. The Forensic nurse becomes that liason between the medical profession and that of the criminal justice system. In Order to be certified as a forensic nurse, you must possess a active, valid, and unrestricted Nursing license in the state in which you intend to practice in.

Forensic Nursing Salary

The salary of a forensic nurse can vary greatly from center to center. There are many factors that go into how much forensic nurses make. They could be paid a flat fee per case, an on call pay of a few dollars an hour, some get a time and a half or double time for getting called in. For a more detailed information on forensic nurse pay, visit our Forensic Nursing Salary page.

Sub Specialties of Forensic Nursing

There are many different roles and specialties that a forensic nurse can try to specialize in. the following list is meant to give some helpful ideas of careers for forensic nursing, and should not be viewed as a complete list of nuring career choices.

  • SANE (Sexual Assult Nurse Examiner)
  • Medical Examiner's office
  • Medical Legal Consultant
  • Emergency Room Nursing
  • Medicolegal death investigator
  • Evidence collection trainer
  • Expert medical witness
  • Law enforcement teams

Forensic Nurse Training

There are many schools and certification programs around the country and an increasing trend is programs that are offering online training like Kaplan. We have tried to compile the most up to date listing of Forensic Nursing Programs on the internet. If you find or know of another forensic nursing school or forensic nursing certificate program please let us know and we will be sure to have it added as soon as possible.

Forensic Nursing Continuing Education

Navigation Guide
Quick links to our most popular content

pisture

Welcome to TheForensicNurse.com

Think you know about forensic nursing? Let us test you...