The Place
Another IAFN Conference has come and gone. Held in the golden land of California, the forensic nurses conference basked in the delights of the Disneyland hotel. It was not a bad place for a conference, but my thoughts echoed those of others around me.
This was not the place I imagined having a forensic nursing conference.
There’s something about being surrounded by cartoon figures such as Goofy at a breakfast bar, and listening to the Cinderella theme, that didn't put me in the mindset of forensics, but hey, don’t get me wrong. I can bring out my inner child with the best of ‘em, and I did. And the evening fireworks every night were spectacular!
Still, in the future, I'm hoping for a forensic conference in Hollywood or in San Diego, or Las Vegas, New Orleans or New York. You know, in the very LEAST at where some of the major CSI shows took place. (Not that I ever watched CSI.)
At this conference, the new IAFN logo was unveiled and proved to be an interesting surprise. No one I spoke with knew that it was going to change before the conference, and that was disconcerting to some, but when I asked about the reasons for changing it, the thoughts behind it were reasonable. Easier visibility on electronic communications, and a simpler design. Still, I've got to admit, I miss the old logo. The new one looks almost identical to the logo for the International Nurses Association, and is more 'nurse' or Red Cross oriented than medico-legal. Regardless, the messages of "Leadership, Care and Expertise," are excellent, and they are forensic nursing core values that I believe all of us can stand behind.
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| Retrieved from: www.iafn.org, 24 Oct. 2013. |
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| Retrieved from: http://www.inanurse.com. 24 Oct. 2013. |
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| On the Bus to the Crime Lab!! |
As you can see from the pictures above, quite a few of us (2 bus-loads) took a Monday evening trip to the crime lab after listening to presentations all day. And so, we offloaded at the Brad Gates Forensic Science Center.
We had a wonderful 45 minute presentation which informed us of the evidence the crime lab processes there, and were able to visit two forensic departments (one for fingerprints and another for toxicology) before we were informed that we had to leave. Apparently, we'd run out of time for our bus drivers! We were disappointed, and many of us wished for more time to tour, but it was still an interesting experience.
Crime Lab Walls
Amazing photographs of some "how they used to do it" moments in time, from the Brad Gates Forensic Center!
The Presentations
From Monday through Thursday, I attended the following presentations:
1. Forensic Nursing Application of Criminal Trial Testimony (by Jenifer Markowitz and Sasha Rutizer)
2. Clinical Forensic Nursing Evaluation in the Strangulation Patient (by Sally Sturgeon and Bill Smock)
3. You Say Munchausen, I Say Murder (by Kathy Koetting and Nancy Duncan)
4. Navigating Military Justice: The Forensic Nurses Role as Witness and Expert Consultant (by Jenifer Markowitz and Sasha Rutizer)
5. Work with Me! The Benefits of Collaboration Between Forensic Nurses and Forensic Scientists (Julie Valentine and Suzanne Miles)
6. Murder or Overdose? A Case Study of Death by GHB (by Trinka Porrata)
7. Healing Neen (by Tonier Cain)
8. Fifty Shades of Grey: Normalized Violence or Private Pleasure? (by Ann Troy and Catherine Carter-Snell)
9. Autoerotic deaths: Challenges for Death Investigation
10. Crime Scene Investigation for the Health Care Provider
11. The Neurobiology of Trauma
(More soon! This is a work in progress, so please come back!)
