There are many specialization options within the nursing field, including forensic nursing. This specialty involves examining and treating victims of violent crimes and abuse or neglect cases. Forensic nurses also collect evidence and may testify in court on their findings.
If you’re thinking about switching careers and are interested in both healthcare and criminal justice, consider combining your interests. A career in forensic nursing could be the right fit for you. What is forensic nursing? It is a nursing specialty that focuses on providing care to victims of violence, such as domestic violence, physical assault, and sexual assault.
Whether you decide to pursue forensic nursing or another specialty, you can prepare for a future nursing career at Felician University. By leveraging your non-nursing bachelor’s degree or college credits, you can earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in as few as 16 months with the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program. We provide a values-based nursing education to prepare future nurses to merge compassion with care.
Before starting your career path, take a closer look at what forensic nurses do and how a forensic nursing program can help you enter this specialty area. Discover the essential skills for forensic nurses and take a look at possible career paths.
How Nursing and Forensics Work Together
Nursing and forensic science are separate fields, yet forensic nursing brings together elements of medical science, law, and criminal investigation. This multidisciplinary approach serves to support victims of neglect, abuse, and other violent crimes, providing the care they need while also supporting the pursuit of justice.
The work that a forensic nurse does can help victims recover, lead to the identification of suspects, and strengthen the criminal case against defendants.
What Forensic Nurses Do in Practice
A violent crime may occur suddenly or, as in the case of domestic violence or child abuse, be sustained over a prolonged period. Victims may have severe physical injuries, significant psychological trauma, and may find it psychologically difficult to tolerate health exams and treatment. Some patients may have related health challenges, such as malnutrition from neglect.
Compassionate care, patient advocacy, and emotional support are at the heart of what a forensic nurse does. A forensic nurse must use excellent observational skills, active listening, and gentle questioning to acquire information about the patient’s health problems. They must thoroughly educate the patient about the nursing diagnoses and options and obtain informed consent before proceeding with exams and treatment.
Some of the specific responsibilities of a forensic nurse include:
- Conducting health assessments and forensic exams
- Collecting evidence and documenting injuries
- Providing emotional support
- Administering trauma-informed care
- Connecting patients to community resources
- Testifying in court on forensic findings
What is trauma-informed care, and how can nurses provide it?
Education and Nursing Pathways That Lead to Forensic Nursing
The first step toward becoming a forensic nurse is to earn a BSN. If you have no prior college education, you’ll need to enroll in a traditional four-year BSN program. If, however, you do have prior college education and can meet the admission requirements, you can earn your BSN faster with an accelerated BSN program, such as Felician’s ABSN program. After completing any needed prerequisites, you could earn a BSN in as few as 16 months.
After graduating, you must pass the NCLEX-RN and obtain licensure as an RN. Although it varies by healthcare employer, forensic nursing is not typically an entry-level nursing specialty. Expect to need at least a couple of years of clinical experience as an RN.
You might consider looking for jobs in the emergency room to gain relevant experience. While not a universal requirement, some healthcare employers may also prefer to hire forensic nurses with a master’s degree.
Forensic Nursing Programs and Specialized Training
After you’ve gained some clinical experience as an RN, start looking for forensic nursing programs and certifications that can help you pursue a career as a forensic nurse. One option is to earn a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree with a forensic nursing focus.
You can also pursue specialty certification, such as the sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE-A/SANE-P) certification offered by the International Association of Forensic Nurses. Explore the approved SANE classes for clinical training opportunities to prepare for certification. Obtaining specialty certification in forensic nursing may help improve your career opportunities while preparing you to better help your patients.
Career Paths and Work Settings in Forensic Nursing
A forensic nurse may be found in a variety of settings. Often, forensic nurses work in emergency departments in hospitals, but they can also work in correctional facilities, coroner and medical examiner’s offices, and community service organizations, such as sexual assault response teams.
Additionally, some forensic nurses work in psychiatric facilities, while others work in child advocacy centers or domestic violence shelters.
A forensic nurse can work with different types of patients, including:
- Children who have been neglected and/or abused
- Domestic violence survivors
- Older patients who have been neglected and/or abused
- Inmates and defendants
- Psychiatric patients
- Sexual assault survivors
A career in forensic nursing can lead to specialized roles within this practice area. These include:
- Child abuse nurse examiner (CANE)
- Domestic violence nurse (DVN)
- Forensic nurse death investigator (FNDI)
- Sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE)
Forensic nurses who are death investigators must provide emotional support to grieving families while investigating the cause of suspicious or unexpected deaths.
Career Outlook for Forensic Nurses
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the job growth rate for all types of RNs is expected to be 5% from 2024 through 2034, faster than the average for all occupations. The BLS does not offer job growth projections specific to nursing specialties like forensic nursing, but these general statistics may give you an idea of the demand for nurses.
Important Skills and Qualities for Forensic Nurses
Forensic nurses need a combination of clinical and soft skills. Along with the usual RN skills like patient charting, they need to know how to conduct a forensic exam, which is a head-to-toe exam that involves collecting evidence, while also maintaining the legal chain of custody, documenting injuries, and providing care, including pregnancy prevention and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention.
Forensic exams are conducted on victims of sexual assault and other forms of abuse, provided the patient consents to the exam.
Along with clinical skills in forensic nursing, some of the most important soft skills for this specialty include:
- Ability to console victims
- Investigative mindset
- Calm, reassuring demeanor
- Communication skills
- Emotional resilience
- Empathy and compassion
- Observational skills
- Professionalism
- Unwavering dedication to professional ethics
Learn how to get into nursing school and begin your career pathway.
Start Your Nursing Pathway at Felician University
Felician University can be your path toward a career in forensic or any other nursing specialty. Our On-Ground ABSN program in Rutherford, New Jersey, offers a 100% in-person learning experience. Meanwhile, our Hybrid ABSN program in Parsippany, New Jersey, offers convenient online coursework paired with in-person experiential learning. Both programs can be completed in as few as 16 months.
Contact an admissions counselor today to learn about our admission requirements. With no waitlist and three start dates a year, you can start your nursing journey soon.