Course Summary
Specially trained forensic health team members are often the first response of healthcare and crisis intervention for vulnerable victims of sexual assault and physical abuse. Increasingly, state jurisdictions require some health professionals in various healthcare settings to be trained specially to offer forensic evidence collection for victims of sexual assault. These specially trained health team members also liaise with other health, law enforcement, and legal professionals to ensure that timely and appropriate documentation and forensic evidence are collected to improve outcomes for victims. A specific focus on Texas law as it pertains to forensic nursing in sexual assault cases is discussed as outlined in the Sexual Assault Prevention and Crisis Services Act, Texas Government Code, section 420.001, et seq.
Course Format
Homestudy
Course Syllabus
- Introduction
- Sexual Assault Prevention and Crisis Services Act
- Prevalence of Sexual Assault: IPV and Elder Abuse
- Texas Law on Forensic Nursing
- Texas Board of Nursing: Rule 216.3(d)(1)
- History Taking in Sexual Assault Cases
- Health History and Physical Examination
- Forensic Evaluation
- Collecting, Packaging Evidence, Labeling, and Storing
- Labeling and Storing: Avoiding Contamination
- Proper Sealing of Evidence and Protocol
- Chain of Custody and Toxicology Evidence
- Sexual Assault and Pregnancy
- Drug-facilitated Sexual Assault
- Substances Associated with Drug-Assisted Sexual Assault
- Flunitrazepam (Roofies) and GHB
- Intimate Partner Violence and Elder Abuse
- Case Study: Violent Rape and Forensic Evidence Collection
- Discussion
- Summary
Author
Dana Bartlett, RN, BSN, MSN, MA, CSPI
Dana Bartlett is a professional nurse and author. His clinical experience includes 16 years of ICU and ER experience and over 27 years as a poison control center information specialist. Dana has published numerous CE and journal articles, written NCLEX material, textbook chapters, and more than 100 online CE articles, and done editing and reviewing for publishers such as Elsevier, Lippincott, and Thieme. He has written widely on the subject of toxicology and was a contributing editor, toxicology section, for Critical Care Nurse journal. He is currently employed at the Connecticut Poison Control Center. He lives in Wappingers Falls, NY.
