The Forensic Nursing Certification Board (FNCB) has a vision of the “Future of Forensic Nursing” that is unlike the current landscape of today’s forensic nursing practices. Forensic nursing has flourished over the past 25 years with the development of many important, population-focused roles. However, role confusion and overreach have forensic nurses practicing outside their scope of practice according to their licensure.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials (2021) defines two levels of nursing preparation. The FNCB adopted this framework as it conducted research to define core forensic nursing knowledge, skills, and practices for forensic nursing specialty practice levels – generalist forensic nurse and advanced forensic nurse. The GFN and AFN certification examinations were developed and launched in 2022 to verify the competency of this core knowledge.

Objectives:

• Analyze nurses’ scope of practice based on licensure levels – registered nurse and advanced practice nurse.
• Discuss the three pillars related to knowledge, skills, and practices standard to the specialty of forensic nursing, regardless of population-focused role.
• Explore the impact of forensic nursing expert consensus-derived curriculum for forensic nurses.

Presenters: 

Deborah St. Germain, DNP, RN, AFN-C, SANE-A, SANE-P, IVSE-C, is an accomplished Advanced Forensic Nurse formerly practicing at the Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office Sexual Assault Services in New Orleans. Additionally, she serves as a Graduate Faculty in the Forensic Nursing Program at Texas A&M University College of Nursing. She earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in Forensic Nursing from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, a Master of Nursing (MN) as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Parent-Child Nursing and Staff Development from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Murray State University in Kentucky. As an experienced sexual assault nurse examiner, child sexual abuse evaluator, death investigator, and legal nurse consultant, she is actively involved in numerous critical initiatives. She is a member of the Louisiana Child Death Review Team and the Pregnancy Associated Mortality Review Team, serves as the nursing representative for the Louisiana Senate Child Abuse Investigations Task Force, and Co-Chairs the Louisiana State Nurses Association’s Nurses Against Trafficking Task Force. With a passion for empowering nurses at all levels, Dr. St. Germain is dedicated to advancing the nursing profession and enhancing healthcare quality through education, practice, scholarly writing, generalist and advanced forensic nursing certification, and accreditation. She is currently the President of the Forensic Nursing Certification Board (FNCB).

Dr. Patricia Speck is a retired Professor Emeritus from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Immediate Past President of the Forensic Nursing Certification Board. Over four decades, Dr. Speck influenced the evolution of forensic nursing as a leader and mentor, academician, researcher, advanced nurse practitioner, and legal nurse consultant. Dr. Speck’s research built on and clarified elements of forensic nursing practice, where her policy initiatives changed legislative and bureaucratic activities across state and national government agencies, improving understanding of forensic nursing roles as they relate to the patients served in medical forensic settings. Her masterful language clarifications and leadership aligned nursing’s guiding documents, standards, and recent nursing peer-reviewed research to establish the domains of practice, core competencies, the competencies’ descriptions and context, and core competencies. The historical research aligned forensic nursing with the AACN Essentials (2021) and identified content for the certification examinations for the Generalist Forensic Nurse®, and the Advanced Forensic Nurse®. Dr. Speck’s integration of forensic nursing into primary care benefited all people who intersect with the legal system. A prolific writer and researcher, Dr. Speck authors peer-reviewed journal articles, books, and book chapters, and has dozens of media appearances representing nurse practitioners who integrate forensic nursing care in their practices. Dr. Speck led several organizations, receiving over 25 national and international awards. Today Dr. Speck continues to serve in leadership roles, mentoring students, providers, writers, and forensic nursing leaders globally. Dr. Speck received education from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing, earning a BSN (1982), MSN (1985), and DNSc (2005).

Enduring Modules - This module originated on 03/26/2025 and will remain available for CE credit through 04/01/2027

Criteria for Successful Completion:

Live attendees must join the zoom link via the LMS site, be logged in for a minimum of 90% of the session, and successfully complete the attestation and evaluation. Upon completion, a CE certificate for 1.25 contact hours will be awarded. 

Recordings of the live session will be made available within one week of the live date. 

Asynchronous attendees must utilize the LMS to obtain resource information (if available), view 100% of recording(s), complete all modules, and successfully complete the attestation and evaluation. Upon completion, a CE certificate for 1.25 contact hours will be awarded.

No relevant financial relationships exist for any individuals in a position to control content of this educational activity.

NOTE:

The Academy of Forensic Nursing is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.