FNS Section International and Human Rights Committee
Notes on Global Forensic Nursing
Introduction
Clinical forensic health care encompasses all patient encounters with obvious or potential legal implications. Trauma survivors and those accused of perpetuating acts of violence are destined to be involved in subsequent legal proceedings, including testimony in courts of law. Nurses who care for patients in clinical and community settings have an inherent obligation to identify, protect, and preserve multiple types of evidence that will be eventually required to administer justice. This responsibility of professional nursing is inherent in all countries as an essential element of public health and safety as well as human rights. The role of forensic nurses involves a global focus on clinical forensic topics and medicolegal death investigation.
When death occurs within the clinical setting the Forensic Nurse Examiner (FNE) can serve as an essential forensic liaison to the emergency and critical care team, the family, and the police. It presents unique and challenging responsibilities to protect the patient's legal, civil, and human rights identified within the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions.
Mission
The Committee's focus commences with human dignity, social justice, and the provision of individual and collective human rights in forensic health care for all people. This endeavor requires a fusion of nursing practice and the forensic sciences, sustained by the principles of scientific, method-based investigation. The specialization requires nurses to respond to existing crises where they live and work and prepares them to identify opportunities for supporting nurses who are working in global areas that are engaged in revolution, war, and social conflicts. There are unique ways in which each of our members can become a vital resource for humanitarian organizations that are searching for forensic nurse experts.
Investigation is the driving force for all nurses to understand the origin of injury, disease, or death, and raising an awareness of the current human rights, truths, and circumstances of current world crises impacting humanity, practicing to support judicial proceedings to protect the patients' legal and human rights. According to the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA), the entire nursing process is predicated on an investigative and interpretive search for the facts and the truth.1 This concept is applied to the specific processes involved in the clinical investigation of trauma or death of the forensic patient.
Challenges for Forensic Nurses
One of the greatest challenges in the advancement of forensic nursing is the lack of specialty education in both graduate and undergraduate nursing programs. There is a dire need for qualified academicians who can conduct forensic nursing research and serve as advocates for social justice. This must be accompanied by strong legislative mandates and health care regulatory guidance that address forensic issues. Many health care organizations and community agencies have not yet fully appreciated the value of forensic nurses for client services. As a result, there is insufficient funding for forensic support services and related staff positions. With the support of forensic medical practitioners and other forensic scientists, this committee strongly believes that nurses are vital to improving the global conditions of health care and social justice. The AAFS Forensic Nursing Science Section (FNSS) provides an advanced platform to foster further growth and development in the science of forensic nursing through elevated scholarship and service in forensic health care.
Join Us
Please join the AAFS FNSS nurses who are attending the 24th Triennial Meeting of the International Association of Forensic Sciences, May 25-30, 2026, and learn more about the efforts and advances of nurses who represent the future of global forensic nursing practice. FNSS members attending and participating include Jamie Ferrell, MBA (Texas), Joyce Williams, DNP (Maryland), and Valeria Kaegi, RN (Switzerland).
1. North American Nursing Diagnosis Association.
The views and opinions expressed in the articles contained in the Academy News are those of the identified authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Academy.