Creating a Patient and Family Advisory Council at a level 1 trauma center.

Partnering with patients and families through a Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) provides the opportunities to improve health care quality and safety. PFAC is a well-defined group of patients, families, and staff members who meet on a regular basis to ensure that patient's experiences, points of view, and recommendations are identified and shared with the organization. In fall 2010, at our level 1 trauma center, Trauma Services collaborated with the trauma nursing staff to formulate our first trauma-related PFAC.

Alternate light sources in sexual assault examinations: an evidence-based practice project.

The ability of sexual assault nurse examiners to correctly identify and collect DNA evidence improves patient outcomes and prosecution rates. The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a collaborative evidence-based practice (EBP) project between forensic nurses and baccalaureate nursing students. The goal of the project was to determine best practice using an alternate light source (ALS) to identify trace DNA evidence in sexual assault forensic examinations.

CSI: New @ York: development of forensic evidence collection guidelines for the emergency department.

Emergency department (ED) nurses care for victims of trauma almost daily. Although preservation of evidence is crucial, the ED is chaotic when a trauma patient arrives and staff members must do everything possible to save the patient's life. However, an integral responsibility of the staff nurse is collection and preservation of forensic evidence.

Assessment of trauma nurse knowledge related to forensic practice.

Assessment of forensic practice specific to the trauma setting was the purpose of this pilot study. Thirty-eight trauma nurses from a level II trauma center completed a questionnaire related to their knowledge of forensic practice. Although 58% of nurses had some education related to forensics, emergency department nurses were significantly more knowledgeable about existence of protocols than were intensive care unit nurses.