Forensic Evidence Collection

Course Summary

Sexual assault, intimate partner violence and elder abuse in the United States are very common. Specially trained forensic nurses are often the first-response of medical care and crisis intervention for vulnerable victims of sexual assault and physical abuse. Increasingly, state jurisdictions are requiring nurses in a variety of health care settings to be specifically trained to provide health care to victims of sexual assault. These specially trained nurses also liaise with other medical and law enforcement professionals to ensure that appropriate documentation and forensic evidence is collected to improve outcomes for the victim and to help with legal requirements to prosecute offenders. The development of forensic nursing, with a specific case focus on Texas law as pertains to forensic nursing in sexual assault cases, found in the Sexual Assault Prevention and Crisis Services Act, Texas Government Code, is discussed.