My Journey Into Forensics Continues....

OK, here's my story. Became an RN about 8 years ago, prior offenses include working as a process server and private investigator, all the bells and whistles that you can imagine. I gave this up when I got married and was raising my son. Became a nurse and am working registry, always have.

Remarried, kid is now a teenager, came into some money that afforded me the luxery of expanding my education, absolutely LAUGH at CSI and wanted to be a witness for the truth. Where to go? Forensics. How? Well asearch online lead me to UC Riverside and I am in the process of completing my Sexual Assault Examiner internship, not the avenue I intend to persue but a great way to network and meet other Forensic nurses.

I just attended a conference in Long Beach of Forensic Nurses and had a BLAST!!! Words cannot describe the information from the presentations and peer review sessions that were provided. My advice, check with your school, your community hospitals for any sex assault conferences, community meetings, check with your local police department for meetings and events.

Ask you PD for a "ride along". The class that I took online was expensive and confusing and in no way prepared me for what it would take to be a SANE-A but the additional research and internship requirements I am quite sure will.

My impression is that this is a very, very young splinter of nursing that will blow wide open with the advent of new technology. It is very frustrating to get a foothold in this line of work but I am sure, if you are dedicated, you will do it. I know I will. Most of the nurses that I met where my age group (40 something) and came into nursing sort of late in life, had bright and curious minds, very, very extroverted, didn't shock easily and , well my impressions of them are best kept to myself. What happens at the conference stays at the conference as they say. I would be happy to elaborate PRN. I am off in January to take a Death Investigator Training Course in St. Louis. Will report my findings. I am also taking a ride along this week and will give feedback on that if you want.