Volume 6 Issue 1
January Meeting
June 2010Forensic Nurse
Washington Chapter IAFN
On January 23, 2010, the Washington Chapter of IAFN held its annual meeting and Board Member induction ceremony at St Peter’s Hospital in Olympia Washington.
New Board members were Nodie Sullivan, President-Elect, Paula Skomski, Treasurer and Russ Jones, Member-at-Large. Jackie Moore was re-elected as Secretary.
Here Nodie is being wel-comed by current President, Maryanne Murray.
Of course, by welcoming these new members, we had to say good bye to others. This included our long-time Treasurer, Judy Mickunas. Her knowledge of our Chapter has been invaluable
and though she is no longer on the Board, we are delighted to know that we can rely on her for her knowledge and friendship.
Also completing her time on the Board was Member-at-Large Darra Moore who recently moved to Sarasota, Florida.
Although not currently working in the field, Darra is educating her coworkers on what it is to be a Forensic Nurse. Annual Meeting 1 & 2
Leadership Award 3 Membership News 4 Calendar 5 Presidents Message 6 Benefits of Membership • The chapter is a conduit for dissemination of information
• The chapter provides
professional educational opportunities
• The chapter provides
opportunity to network with other forensic nurses and
professionals
Inside This Issue
V o l u m e 6 I s s u e 1 P a g e 3
Annual Leadership Award
Each year, the Washington Chapter of IAFN selects one person to honor for their work not only in the field of forensic nursing, but who furthers the goals of the chapter. This year we are pleased to present this award to Kathy Ander.
Kathy works tirelessly not only as an investigator for DSHS but has also been a long-standing board member of the Washington Chapter of IAFN. It was in part through
Kathy’s dedication, com-mitment and hard work, that the chapter became active again after being dormant for a period of time.
Kathy has previously held the position of President with the Washington Chapter of IAFN.
Kathy continues to be an advisor to the chapter and we appreciate her vast knowledge and insight which she so generously shares. Kathy is a graduate of the University of Washington Masters Program with a focus on Forensic Nursing.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY IN FORENSIC NURSING:
Wondering what a forensic nurse does? Forensic nursing is practice that intersects between health care and the law. The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) hires BSN and Master’s prepared nurses to conduct investigations related to abuse/neglect and care in long term care facilities. Nurses conduct investigations and determine failed practice related to regulatory requirements. Investigators receive basic and advanced training on observation and interviewing skills. Each investigation is unique and requires critical thinking with focus on patient rights and safety. Licensing and investigator posi-tions are now open in King County. If interested in this exciting, fast paced, full time work, call Lois Rasmussen at 253-234-6020.
Chapter Membership Renewal
The National leadership for IAFN has made a significant change in how chapter dues are
to be collected and how chapter membership is determined. In the past, chapter
membership has been an optional and separate membership process with separate
application and separate membership dues paid at the State level. Many states do not
have a local chapter. For those states with a local state chapter, persons interested in
chapter membership were required first to join the
National
organization before joining
the chapter. Often there are significantly more National IAFN members than Chapter
members in any state.
Starting in 2008, the National IAFN membership process for chapter membership was
changed so that any person who joins IAFN pays both State and National membership
dues to the National organization. Chapters receive a membership stipend from the
National organization for each person in their state.
Thinking of becoming an IAFN and Washington Chapter Member? Go to the website:
www.forensicnurse.org
for more information.
WANTED:
We are constantly looking for information to share with our readers. This is your newsletter and as such, we would like to share what you are doing. Please send forensic nursing stories, accomplishments, etc that you and/or your colleagues have experienced. This might include program development, educational goals achieved, awards earned. Or maybe someone you know has submitted an article or given a presentation. By sharing these accomplishments you are furthering the field of Forensic Nursing and encouraging new nurses to join our ranks. Photos are always welcome. Please send your ideas or suggestions to Dale Fukura at [email protected].V o l u m e 6 I s s u e 1 P a g e 5
Calendar
• July 14, 2010 IAFN Webinar, Forensic Nursing Process (see www.IAFN.org)
• September 8, 2010 IAFN Webinar, Courtroom Testimony (see www.IAFN.org)
• September 10-11, 2010 15th International Conference on Violence, Abuse & Trauma San Deigo, California (see www.IAFN.org)
• September 21, 2010 IAFN Webinar, Sexual Assault Exams in the Deceased Patient (see www.IAFN.org)
• October 23-24, 2010 Seattle Chapter of the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants LNC Boot Camp (see Message from President)
• October 27-30, 2010 IAFN Scientific Assembly
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania (see www.IAFN.org)
• November 7, 2010 WA-IAFN Fall Social from 2p-5p
Kathy Ander’s home—more details to follow
2010 Board Members
President - MaryAnne Murray [email protected]
Immediate Past President - Dale Fukura
President Elect - Nodie Sullivan [email protected]
Secretary - Jackie Moore [email protected]
Treasurer - Paula Skomski [email protected]
Members-at-Large
Jolene Culbertson [email protected]
Russ Jones [email protected]
Washington Chapter IAFN
PO Box 99
Toledo, WA 98591
E-mail:
[email protected]
Working to promote and
disseminate information
about the practice of
fo-rensic nursing in the
State of Washington
President’s Message:
At our January 23, 2010 meeting in Olympia, we discussed abuse of vulnerable adults and the roles played by Nursing Home Investigators, Residential Care Services, Adult Protective Services, and other professionals who work to protect seniors and persons with disabilities. We also discussed an important new book I recommend for all forensic nurses: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwideby Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Recently CARE (www.care.org) sponsored a screening of film vignettes about women whose stories are told in this book. The story of Woinshet (pronounced WIN-ish-ett) is a particularly engaging study of turning adversity into determination. After she was raped by a young man in her Ethiopian village, local custom demanded that she marry him to protect him from prosecution or else risk lifelong spinsterhood. Woinshet refused, and with her father ‘s assistance to buck tradition, Woinshet has worked to educate her countrywomen and countrymen about the wounds this violence inflicts upon society. She has been the catalyst for major change in the lives of Ethiopians.
Opportunities abound for Forensic Nurses to positively change the lives of people in our communities. A number of exciting upcoming trainings offer something for every Washington Forensic Nurse:
On June 7, our Washington Chapter partnered with the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs (www.wcsap.org) to offer Prosecuting Intimate Partner Sexual Violence: A Multidisciplinary Training Workshop. This took place at the Criminal Justice Training Center in Burien and featured well known Forensic Nurse Jenifer Markowitz.
In October, the weekend of the 23rd-24th, the Seattle Chapter of the
American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants is sponsoring
an
LNC Boot Camp (https://www.nnba.net/LNC-Boot-Camp/LNC-Boot-Camp.htm ) with content on business aspects of legal nurse consulting, and case consultation.In addition to these live events, more LNC training is available. Jurex
(http://www.jurexnurse.com/) offers live conferences and distance learning.
Centralia College’s Ed2Go program also offers a surprisingly inexpensive but thorough course on Legal Nurse Consulting (http://www.ed2go.com/
centralia/online_course/lnc/detail/ Legal Nurse_Consulting.html?
CategoryId=18).
Given the abundance of good trainings available, our Washington Chapter Board has decided NOT to compete by offering a summer education session. We will hope to see many of you at these events mentioned above.
