The Forensic Nursing Program at Dartmouth Health is growing and expanding to better meet the needs of patients across our region. In collaboration with the Emergency Department, the program is building an innovative new model of forensic nursing—the first of its kind in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine.

As a Registered Nurse in this newly created role, you will provide compassionate, trauma-informed care to patients requiring medical forensic evaluations following acts of violence. This includes care for individuals impacted by sexual assault, intimate partner violence, interpersonal violence, human trafficking, vulnerable adult abuse, strangulation, and related concerns.

The ideal candidate is motivated by meaningful, specialized work and is eager to be part of a dynamic, interdisciplinary team. This role offers a unique opportunity to actively contribute to the development, implementation, and growth of a pioneering forensic nursing model while delivering patient-centered care at critical moments.

This is an exceptional opportunity for an RN seeking to combine clinical excellence, advocacy, and innovation in a program that is shaping the future of forensic nursing in the region.

Schedule options include:

3:00 PM – 3:00 AM

11:00 AM – 11:00 PM

Full Time and Part Time

On-call responsibilities included

The Clinical Nurse is an engaged and credentialed member of the Professional Nursing Organization and is responsible for autonomous practice directed by the professional tenets of practitioner, leader/decision maker, scientist, and transferor. The Clinical Nurse is responsible for utilizing the nursing process to provide evidence-based care and to continuously monitor and evaluate practice to ensure safe passage of patients that is in the best interest of populations served. The Clinical Emergency/Forensic nurse will be an expert Emergency Department nurse with an adjunct specialization in forensic nursing. Emergency Nursing is a specialized area of practice that is both independent and collaborative, requiring the continual acquisition and application of a specialized body of knowledge and skills. This demands a broad scope of practice to promptly deliver emergency, urgent, and non-urgent care to patients of all ages and from all cultural backgrounds. Emergency nursing care is episodic, primary, and typically acute, but may be chronic in nature requiring knowledge and skills to care for patients of all ages, acuities, and physical or psychological conditions. Forensic nursing is the practice of nursing when health and legal systems intersect. Forensic nurses provide specialized care for patients who are experiencing acute and long-term health consequences associated with victimization or violence, and/or have unmet evidentiary needs relative to having been victimized or accused of victimization. Forensic nurses are a critical resource for anti-violence efforts. The forensic nurse provides consultation and testimony for civil and criminal proceedings relative to nursing practice, care given, and opinions rendered regarding findings. Forensic nursing care is not separate and distinct from other forms of medical care, but rather specialized and integrated into the overall care needs of individual patients. The forensic nurse provides specialized medical forensic evaluations to patients experiencing violence, abuse and/or acts of crime. Patient populations served will include vulnerable adult and pediatric patients in the field of sexual assault, domestic violence, abuse, neglect, mistreatment, and death investigations. The Emergency/Forensic nurse position will be a collaborative role delivering patient care primarily in the emergency department in conjunction functioning as a forensic nurse providing medical evaluations in the unit or affiliate system hospitals as needed.

1. Provide forensic nursing care in a trauma informed manner.
2. Responsible for collaborating with the medical team and ensuring a Medical Screening Exam has or will be completed.
3. Provides medical care simultaneously, while providing the associated forensic needs of the patient specific to each patient population. Provides medical forensic evaluation options of care specific to the patient population seen to include gathering the history of the violence and performing a comprehensive physical assessment.
4. If evidence collection is completed as part of the medical forensic evaluation, the nurse examiner will adhere and apply forensic nursing care in conformity with the State of New Hampshire Acute Care of the Sexual Assault Patient standards.
5. Collaborate and facilitate advocacy services to appropriate patient populations.
6. Perform and document the comprehensive medical forensic evaluation; including documentation of detailed injuries with support of photography/videography with consent of the patient and if required parent/guardian.
7. Maintains chain of custody for each piece of evidence collection when completed.
8. Coordinates care of agencies involved and coordinates referrals appropriate to each patient medical and/or mental health follow up care.
9. Will facilitate mandatory reporting as required by law to reporting agencies when needed.
10. Provides testimony as a fact witness when subpoenaed and coordinates with attorneys during the judicial process. Maintains open communication with Risk Management during judicial process proceedings.
11. Collaborate with team members to continue to grow the program internally and externally creating partnerships with community partners.
12. This position will be open/eligible to additional on call hours requiring a one-hour response time.
13. Emergency Nurse Responsibilities
14. Utilizes the nursing process to assess, diagnose, identify outcomes, plan, implement and evaluate an individualized plan of care.
15. Utilizes critical thinking and the nursing process to anticipate and recognize changes in patient status, taking action to modify the plan of care or to elevate to the care team as necessary.
16. Practices in accordance with the ANA Code of Ethics to advocate for patients, uphold their autonomy in decision-making, ensure informed consent and assist patients in families in expressing self-determination.
17. Actively seeks feedback and acts to improve performance.
18. Engages in the governance of practice.
19. Manages interpersonal relationships for self and with others.
20. Mentors’ colleagues for the advancement of nursing practice and the profession.
21. Assumes authority and accountability for the nursing care of patients while appropriately delegating elements of care to others members of the care delivery team in accordance with laws, regulations and policies and procedures.
22. Prioritizes and organizes time to optimize patient outcomes.
23. Actively seeks out the most current evidence and standards and applies and translates to daily practice.
24. Role models a culture of inquiry, developing new knowledge by contributing to research, quality improvement, and evidence-based practice at the local level.
25. Communicates effectively in a variety of formats in all areas of practice.
26. Actively partners with others to effect change that produces positive outcomes through the exchange of knowledge.
27. Precepts the student nurse, nurse extern, nurse resident, experienced clinical nurse and other members of the healthcare team.
28. Will engage in educational activities and team meetings.
29. Performs other duties as required or assigned.

• Graduate from an accredited nursing program required.
• Associate’s degree in nursing required. Bachelor’s degree in nursing preferred.
• Completion of SANE training from an approved IAFN program and have a history of two years of acute care nursing experience.

• Licensed Registered Nurse with New Hampshire eligibility required.
• Basic Life Support (BLS) Certificate required
• ACLS certification within six months of hire date.
• PALS certification within six months of hire date.
• Trauma Nurse Core Course (TNCC) within one year of hire date.