Catherine Carter-Snell, PhD RN SANE-A DF-AFN

Dr. Catherine Carter-Snell (CJ) is a full professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Canada. She has worked mainly in trauma settings most of her career, including trauma ICU and level 1 Emergency departments as a staff nurse, clinical educator, and nurse manager. Her journey into forensic nursing began in 1996, taking her first formal forensic course, then SANE-A and SANE-P courses, and many others that followed. She began working with sexual assault teams in two cities and became a certified SANE-A (the first Canadian formally certified). CJ had already created an Emergency nursing certificate program at the university, and then created an online forensic certificate program in 1998 which continued until 2013. She continues to develop and teach courses locally and nationally on trauma informed sexual assault and domestic violence care. A major focus at present is teaching and sharing a collaborative rural sexual assault model in outlying communities across the country and with the Canadian Military (the Enhanced Emergency Sexual Assault Services – EESAS program).

CJ has a successful research program, receiving almost 4 million dollars in research grants for projects related to prevention of violence and/or reduction of adverse consequences. Examples include risks for injury with sexual assault, development of the BALD STEP injury guide, male dating violence on campus, a dating violence prevention program for universities (Stepping Up), critical incident stress in nursing students, psychological harm with simulation, needs of rural communities to provide sexual assault care, sexual assault prevention in disasters, and most recently co-investigator in a large multiyear project to improve sexual assault and intimate partner violence services for the transgender community.

Her leadership experience is varied and extensive. She has served numerous mentorship roles (e.g. Teaching Scholar, Research Scholar, Nursing Scholar), nurse manager (e.g. level 1 trauma ER, post anaesthesia unit, clinical simulation lab), clinical lead/instructor, an executive on various professional associations (e.g. Canadian Cardiovascular Nurses association, Academy of Forensic Nursing Director, St John Ambulance), and chair of numerous professional committees including research, education, and creator/co-chair of AFN’s international special interest group. In 2006 she co-founded, and was the first president, for what is now the Canadian Forensic Nurses Association. After her work on the AFN Board of Directors, she created the Journal of the Academy of Forensic Nursing (JAFN) and is currently the Editor in Chief.

CJ has won numerous of awards for her forensic nursing, teaching and research, including the international dissertation award from Sigma Theta Tau, designation as 1 in 100 Canadian nurse influencers, and as a “Difference Maker” with the Canadian Association of Mental Health for her work with trauma informed forensic care, and became a Distinguished Fellow of the Academy. CJ strongly believes in the AFN’s commitment to evidence-informed forensic nursing practice, as well as in collaboration, partnerships, and collegiality. It is hoped we can expand the profile of AFN in forensic nursing across the globe, support new forensic groups, and learn from other forensic nursing associations. We are stronger together.