Academy of Forensic Nursing - Bell Work Talks Kathy Bell

In this Bell Work Talk, Dr. Bhattarai discusses the impacts of mindfulness practices on forensic nurses. This podcast offers a range of practical tools that forensic nurses can incorporate into their daily clinical practices and personal lives.

Dr. Bhattarai is a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Nursing at Texas A&M University. She has an academic background in nursing, psychology, and rehabilitation counseling. With expertise in mental health, mindfulness, and well-being research in people with chronic illnesses and disabilities, Dr. Bhattarai has expanded her research focus to the crucial intersection of mindful self-care and the unique needs of forensic nurses. As she delved deeper into her research and engaged with various populations, it became increasingly evident that forensic nurses could greatly benefit from mindfulness-based self-care. She recently led a comprehensive narrative review exploring the potential benefits of mindfulness among forensic nurses. Her paper provided a diverse array of practical mindfulness tools for forensic nurses. She is dedicated to designing mindfulness-based self-care strategies and integrating mindfulness practices within forensic nursing education.

Resources:

Bhattarai, M., Clements, P. T., & Downing, N. R. (2023). Mindfulness-based self-care for forensic nurses: A professional lifestyle approach. Journal of Forensic Nursing. Advanced Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1097/JFN.0000000000000456

In this Bell Work Talk, Dr. Francine Bono-Neri, who is the Co-founder and President of Nurses United Against Human Trafficking, will discuss the vital work of this professional association and how the need is dire to get Anti-Human Trafficking Training into not only state mandated continuing education, but its incorporation into prelicensure nursing education. She will discuss the massive intersection of human trafficking with healthcare and how we, as healthcare professionals, are failing this population.

Dr. Francine Bono-Neri, a proud member of the nursing profession for 32 years, is a pediatric nurse practitioner, academic nurse educator, trained sexual assault nurse examiner, researcher, published author, invited speaker, health policy advocate, and nurse leader. She served as a Director-at-Large for the American Nurses Association for the State of New York, and as President for the Long Island Chapter of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Dr. Bono-Neri is the recipient of the prestigious Jane Eleanor Knox N.E.F. National Scholarship, and was awarded a Nassau County Legislature Citation for her extraordinary efforts in serving her former hometown community. Dr. Bono-Neri is the Co-founder and President of Nurses United Against Human Trafficking, P.A., a professional association created for the sole purpose of abolishing modern-day slavery by educating, equipping, and empowering healthcare professionals on anti-trafficking measures.

Resources:

www.nuaht.org

www.nursesunitedagainsthumantrafficking.org

Nursing students' knowledge of and exposure to human trafficking
content in undergraduate curricula - ScienceDirect https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0260691723002149?via%3Dihub

Recently Established Scholarships (n-e-f.org) https://n-e-f.org/about-us/recently-established-scholarships.html

In this Bell Work Talk, Dr. Clements and Ms. Varto will discuss that it is important to continually educate forensic nurses with evolving forensic nursing science, as forensic nursing now approaches being a formally established specialty for 30 years (American Nurses Association recognized Forensic Nursing as a specialty in 1995), it is additionally incumbent for our members to educate others, both interprofessionally and intraprofessionally. As the unique base of forensic nursing science continues to expand, it is critically important for our professional members to share that information to enhance nursing care to both victims and offenders across all settings – not just those settings that may be specifically or directly considered to be “forensic” in nature. This podcast provides several case examples of how forensic nursing knowledge was shared with other healthcare professionals, both intra and inter professionally, in order to heighten awareness toward enhanced and targeted assessment and intervention for patients in healthcare scenarios that may not have necessarily been considered to be acutely forensic, yet, certainly could have medico-legal implications.

Paul Thomas Clements is a forensic psychiatric clinical specialist, a Certified Gang Specialist, and Certified in Danger Assessment. Practicing in the forensic nursing arena for over 30 years, Clements has provided consultation for hospital systems, EMTs, Child Protective Agency personnel, trauma/emergency nurses, psychiatric providers, academic and corporate settings – each regarding vulnerability risk assessment, target-hardening, and decreasing the number of violent incidents in the workplace, as well as bullying and the subsequent sequelae. Clements has provided consultation to public school systems and other child-related agencies related to child abuse assessment, and also related to the aftermath of violence and/or violent death (including homicide of a child and gang-related deaths) for teachers and other classmates. Clements has three upcoming edited textbooks: Gender Violence Across the Spectrum: A Trauma-Informed Approach, Mental Health Issues in Child Maltreatment: A New Perspective, and Violence Against Women: Contemporary Examination of Domestic Violence. Additionally, he has numerous peer-review publications, and a significant number of conference presentations – nationally and internationally – that address assessment and intervention related to the neurobiology of trauma, interpersonal violence and aggression, coping after a violent death, safety assessment, and exposure to interpersonal violence and crime.

Nurse Practitioner Hannah Varto works in and led the development of Canada’s only outpatient, rapid access specialty clinic providing medical-forensic care to survivors of recent violence. She is an instructor for the local post-secondary forensic health sciences department and a co-investigator in a number of research studies specific to brain injury from head impacts and strangulation in survivors of recent violence.

In this Bell Work Talk, Dr. Neville and Julia Bonfim discuss the emergent public health threat regarding the infiltration of the adulterant xylazine in illicit drugs. A brief overview of the opioid epidemic worsened by fentanyl will be discussed and the impact of the adulterant xylazine will be presented. The historical development of xylazine use, identification of potential xylazine use and implications for nursing practice will be presented.

Kathleen Neville is associate dean for graduate studies and research at Seton Hall University College of Nursing in Nutley, New Jersey, and principal investigator of two Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grants, the Seton Hall University and Hackensack School of Medicine Expanded Interprofessional Medication-Assistant Treatment Training Program. This grant is designed to train medical, nurse practitioner and physician assistant students to provide medication assisted treatment to individuals with opioid use disorders.

Julia Bonfim is the project coordinator overseeing the grant to train nurse practitioners and physician assistant students at Seton Hall University and Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, and medical students at the Hackensack School of Medicine in Nutley, New Jersey, to treat individuals with opioid use disorders.

Resources:

Manuscript: Infiltration of xylazine in illicit fentanyl, By Kathleen Neville, PhD, RN, FAAN and Julia Bonfim, MPA, published in American Nurse Journal. 2023; 18(11). Doi: 10.51256/ANJ112340, © 2023 HealthCom Media. All rights reserved. Link to manuscript: https://www.myamericannurse.com/infiltration-of-xylazine-in-illicit-fentanyl/

In this Bell Work Talk, Pam Marcus discusses a comprehensive assessment of an individual who is potentially violent, using the Brøset Violent Checklist as well as interventions that can reduce this dangerous behavior.

Ms. Marcus is an Advanced Practice Nurse Psychotherapist in Private Practice in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. She provides psychotherapy to individuals and families experiencing a variety of diagnoses, such as Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, Personality Disorders, Gender Dysphoria, Substance Use Disorder and Affect Disorders.

Resources:

Please contact Kathy Bell at kbell@afnmail.org if you would like the list of resources.

In this Bell Work Talks, Dr. Joyce Williams discusses how standards impact professional practice, what the main purpose is and how it directs professional nursing practice.

This is followed by a review of the forensic nursing subcommittee of the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science (OSAC), whose goal is to strengthen the discipline’s use of forensic science by drafting standards related to all forms of violence. The team structure strives to provide a robust analysis of each aspect of forensic nursing care that leaves no unanswered questions when caring for a victim of violence and the prosecution of a case.

Dr. Joyce Williams received her Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Tennessee in forensic nursing. Focusing on injury prevention, her research includes swabbing of the mouth for forensic DNA and reducing combat morbidity and mortality through improved protective armor for the military members. She is an active member of the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT). As a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing she serves on the expert panels: violence and quality health care.

She chairs the forensic nursing subcommittee for OSAC (Organization of Scientific Area Committees), and the Forensic Nursing Science Section in the American Academy of Forensic Science (AAFS). She is a reviewer for the Journal of Forensic Nursing and Journal of Doctoral Nursing Practice. Additional service includes the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force Victim Services Committee, the Baltimore County Human Trafficking work group, educator for medical providers on identification and protocols to use with trafficked individuals, and Board member - Partnership for a Safer Maryland.