Hi- I hope you forensics nurses can help me. I just talked to an admissions rep for Kaplan's Forensic Nursing cert. program, and I was curious to know the low-down from those of you with experience with this. She said she hadn't seen a background as good as mine in a long time (don't know if she was blowing smoke up my butt, or if she really meant it...lol). My background is in level 1 trauma, and correctional nursing. I just finished the didactic portion of a distance RN program at Excelsior, and we have SANE nurses at my hospital. I've emailed the HR dept. at work with questions about who they hire, etc.
What I need to know from those of you with experience in this area is:
Have any of you done this program? Is it a good one, or are there better ones out there? I can get preceptorship here in my area, too- which is a plus. Any advice out there? I'd really like to do this, and I don't really want to freelance once I'm done. I already owe time to my hospital (where I'm happy) for this round of tuition reimbursement. And if they cover this cert., I'll owe them more.
How doable is this (or any) forensics certification? I already know I can dedicate myself to a distance program and have the discipline to carry it through. But I will have to work full time while I'm doing it.
Also, what are the pros and cons of being a forensics nurse? Aside from the gore (which I can handle), and the emotional hardship (which I have been working on anyway) do any of you regret doing this? I really think I have found my desire in nursing here, and I think my previous experience has led up to this.
Any info/advice would be greatly appreciated. I really want this, but I want to go into it with my eyes wide open, before I dedicate at least a year to it. Thanks in advance!
