Forensic Nurse – Career and Education Profile

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If you’re looking for a unique nursing career that combines criminal justice and the world of medicine, you may want to consider working as a forensic nurse.

Job Responsibilities

Forensic nurses have a variety of job responsibility that change depending on the specific case needs. In this role, you’ll serve as a liaison between medical facilities and investigators, working with patients to ensure that there injuries are documented. Your tasks could include administering rape kits to check for signs of rape, taking blood and urine samples, and taking pictures of bruises or other injuries. Because you’ll deal with patients who have been through a difficult crime, you could also monitor a patient on suicide watch or evaluate a patient’s mental health status. Some forensic nurses also work with coroners.

Salary and Career Options

The amount of money you’ll make as a forensic nurse depends on your level of education, location, and experience in the field, though most make over $60,000 annually. Once you’ve begun working in the forensics field, you also have the option of gaining the experience needed to become an expert witness. In this role, you’ll serve as a witness in court, telling the judge or jury your conclusions based on a patient or corpse’s medical condition.

Educational Requirements

Most forensic nursing positions require you to have at least a bachelor’s degree in nursing, as well as specialized on-the-job training or classes so that you’re prepared to work in this field. Specialized education is important to you don’t accidentally destroy evidence or complicate a case for investigators. While not mandatory, you can seek certification in a number of forensic nursing areas, such as sexual assault examination, which allows you to make more money and qualify for better jobs.

LPN to RN College Programs

While several schools have online nursing degrees available, few offer LPN to RN programs. What's the good news? We have listed some accredited schools below that do offer the program in addition to schools with other bridge programs available. Find out more information and contact each school by using any of the links below.

Indiana State University—Indiana State University offers a robust online program designed for LPNs wanting to become registered nurses and earn their BSN degree. Since ISU's credits transfer to over 80 campus majors, this is an ideal program for people wanting to open opportunities for their career down the road.

The College Network—The College Network is a partnership with several universities and organizations like the National League for Nursing that focuses on online education and programs, with several courses for nurses or those interested in a nursing career. Specifically, TCN helps students prepare for their PN and RN licensures and move on to earn graduate degrees.

Other Nursing Degrees

Walden University—Walden University is typically a graduate school with several masters and doctoral programs available, but they do have BSN and RN to MSN bridge programs available. Walden is based out of Minneapolis and offers several options in transferring your previously earned credits to and from (or even within) the school.

Kaplan University—Kaplan University is one of the nation's largest and leading online educators and offers several bridge programs for registered nurses to earn their BSN or MSN degree. If you have previously earned credits, Kaplan makes it easy for you to transfer to any one of their undergraduate or graduate programs.

Herzing University—While Herzing University does not offer an undergraduate nursing degree, it is a great choice for working nurses wanting to pursue leadership positions in Nurse Education or Management. With over 10 campuses and 45 online programs available, Herzing has a massive network that makes it easy to transfer to or from the school.

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