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One of the most natural ways for a nurse to make a
career change that involves the law is through forensic
nursing, a branch of nursing that involves collecting
evidence in criminal cases and, occasionally, in civil
lawsuits.
Many hospitals have forensic nurses on staff, said
Faye Battiste-Otto, RN, a sexual assault nurse examiner
and president and CEO of American Forensic Nurses, a
Palm Springs, Calif., company. They help law enforcement
agencies to collect and preserve evidence from sexual
assault victims, drunken drivers or suspected lawbreakers.
Battiste-Otto came up with the idea for her company
while working as an emergency room nurse. She noticed
that law enforcement personnel often spent hours in
the hospital waiting for suspects or victims to be examined.
"I thought that was an awful waste of taxpayer
dollars and decided to provide these services to jail
facilities," she said.
Battiste-Otto, who has a staff of 75, now provides
services for 75 law enforcement agencies in Southern
California.
"If you had called me two years ago, I would have
said it was the wave of the future," she said.
"It's not the wave of the future, it's here and
now and it's here to stay."
Private institutions provide training courses on forensic
nursing, and colleges and universities have begun offering
master's-level training in the field, she said. A common
form of forensic nursing can be seen in the Sexual Assault
Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs throughout the country.
Kathy Bell, director of forensic nursing services and
SANE coordinator for the Tulsa (Okla.) Police Department,
said SANE programs in the United States number between
300 and 600.
She said that prior to the SANE program, people who
performed the exams didn't know how to do them and often
didn't want to. Having qualified nurses available to
perform the exams not only brings professionalism to
the process, it also defuses a stressful situation.
"These programs are designed to have a faster
response and, in some cases, a more compassionate response,"
Bell said.
Battiste-Otto said RNs already have the skills to work
as forensic nurses. Receiving a formal education, however,
adds to their credibility. Some won't like the hours
they have to work as a forensic nurse, she said. Many
are on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
She said another drawback is the pressure associated
with testifying in court. Forensic nurses will be subjected
to cross-examination, and mishandling an examination
or testimony can lose a case.
"[Prosecutors] won't remember the many cases you've
won for them," she said, "but they will certainly
remember the one case that did not go through."
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