Episode 49: Translating Forensic Nursing Science to the Larger Healthcare Community Academy of Forensic Nursing - Bell Work Talks

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.