What’s forensic nursing, I wondered as I scanned the list of nursing electives for the summer semester. Well, it must be something like helping with crime scenes — like on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, I thought. It might be exciting. So I signed up for the class with a smile of anticipation.

In July, I started my coursework by looking up the definition of forensic — “pertaining to courts of law”— and all the articles I could find on forensic nursing. I found out that it’s a broad, yet specialized, field.

There are many venues in which nursing and law are combined; the two segments I was exposed to were sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) and correctional nursing. Each is exciting and immensely detailed. Both have much to do with the law but from vastly different perspectives.

SANE nursing is a specialty with a developing program of certification. Deborah Travis, RN, the coordinator of the SANE program at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, led a classroom discussion on evidence collection and issues dealing with assault victims. She stated, “The SANE nurse is there to help the assault victim regain some power they have lost by presenting choices through information, advocacy, and expert collection of evidence that may lead to conviction of the perpetrator. A SANE nurse receives special training that increases the assault perpetrators’ conviction rate from 10% to 80% when the assault victim is treated at Charity.” Specimen collection without contamination by the extraneous DNA of others is a skill that a SANE nurse acquires.

The emotional and cultural aspects of dealing with an assault victim are rewarding, yet emotionally taxing. SANE nurses cry with their patients when needed and help them through their recovery with referrals and follow-up. It takes fortitude, a skilled understanding of forensics, and the flexibility of an ED nurse to be a SANE nurse.

Correctional nursing focuses on the care of perpetrators. Anita G. Hufft, PhD, from Lousiana State University Health Sciences Center, is a corrections nurse and can change almost anyone’s preconceived notions of correctional nursing. When discussing the juveniles age 10 to 18 with whom I was to interact, Hufft said, “Being self-aware is the first step; competency in psychiatric nursing is the second step. If your personal awareness of malingering and manipulation are not up to speed, you may be duped.”

Correctional nurses are advocates for the inmates they care for throughout the wellness continuum. Methods for dealing with pregnancies, addiction, chronic illness, and emergency medicine are integral parts of a correctional nurse’s arsenal. Nurses function with a high level of autonomy although rules are strictly followed for safety of the prisoners and themselves. The difficulties with nursing in correctional care are adherence to rules that can compromise one’s ethical practice. The mental health of an inmate in an eight-foot-wide solitary cell or the ability to provide health education can be hindered by the rules set by the institution of employment. This is a challenge the correctional nurse gladly assumes to provide a standard of care that is both ethical and acceptable.

I originally thought of forensic nursing as an adventure in law enforcement. By the end of my course, I realized that forensic nursing is a special form of advocacy for which a nurse must diligently train. Learning evidence collection is a part of helping a victim, while increasing empowerment and aftercare are other parts. Healthcare of the perpetrator can be an ethics-straining dilemma, but the ability to use all of your skills and care for those who have a multitude of caring needs can be rewarding just the same. Is forensic nursing for everyone? I believe that all nurses work within the legal system at times in their work environment. It is those special nurses who choose to work closely within the legal system as advocates for either victims or criminals that make a forensic nurse.

Jeffrey J. Hamilton, is president of the Louisiana Association of Student Nurses.