Categories
Child Abuse

Public Health Implications of Child Maltreatment

The CDC has a new website focusing on the public health implications of child maltreatment. It’s part of the Veto Violence campaign and while it’s specifically geared toward health department personnel and other public health professionals, there are some things on the site that feel incredibly relevant to my practice, as well.

Categories
Sexual Assault

More on the Issue of Victim Advocacy & HIPAA

I confess that I am surprised that there remain questions regarding the issue of victim advocacy access for all sexual assault patients. The best possible forensic clinicians simply cannot meet all of the needs of the sexual assault patient, and the role of the clinician is distinct from that of the victim advocate. HIPAA is not a reason to limit access, and where this issue continues to be a struggle, please read the latest EVAW bulletin (PDF), which is a follow-up to the original training bulletin. Even if you have fantastic collaboration and access, the bulletin is a good reminder of how we can frame the issue, how are respective roles differ, and what the research says about the impact of victim advocacy on patient outcomes.

Categories
DV/IPV Sexual Assault

Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation

Last month the CDC released the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey 2010 Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation. I was remiss in not posting this sooner, but it’s certainly worth your time. This is the first set of national prevalence data looking at sexual violence and IPV by sexual orientation, and the results are sadly not surprising:

Categories
Child Abuse DV/IPV Sexual Assault

Since Last We Spoke, 2/25/13

Back in my office after a lovely visit with a really diverse group of forensic nurses in Australia. The trip back from Australia? Less lovely. Much. The good news about the cluster&*@k that was my trip home? Well, I might need some time before I can come up with something, but the extra time added to my return trip gave me plenty of time to read. Here’s some of what I was perusing since last we spoke:

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Uncategorized

Bullying on NPR’s Fresh Air

I’m starting the long trek home today, so I leave you with a quickie: an interview Terri Gross did this week with Emily Bazelon, an editor at Slate, on the issue of teen bullying today, which she covers in her book, Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy. The book just came out and having an almost teen girlchild of my own, I’m looking forward to reading it.

Categories
DV/IPV

The Intersection of Domestic Violence and HIV: Practice Tips and Information

The American Bar Association AIDS Coordinating Committee is hosting a multidisciplinary teleconference on the intersection of domestic violence and HIV.  It will take place on February 27th from 12-1pm ET. Looks like you’ll need to email them for call-in info since it isn’t on the announcement. It specifically states that the teleconference is meant for healthcare, legal and social work practitioners, so should be pretty relevant.

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Uncategorized

Where Good Ideas Come From

Today in my keynote talk, I will be talking about innovation. One of the people whose ideas on this subject have been inspiring is Steven Johnson (check out his TED talk here). For me, this video says so much about what we need to consider when we think about innovation and its application to our work:

 

“…chance favors the connected mind.” Awesome.

Categories
Sexual Assault

SANE Sustainability Online Course

I am pleased to announce that IAFN and NSVRC are offering a 6 week online SANE Sustainability course, beginning in April. I will be teaching it, along with Jennifer Pierce-Weeks, and it will be specifically aimed at the issues that impact program managers, such as budgeting, recruitment and retention, and more. There is an application process, and a limited number of spots are available, so please note the deadline in the announcement. A second offering of this course will occur in late summer. All of the details after the jump.

Categories
DV/IPV

Since Last We Spoke, 2-18-13

I am heading to Sydney today, and while I am hoping to keep posts fairly regular for the week, please bear with me. My intention is also to tweet from the conference where I am able, so look for that, as well. This weekend my kiddo was in town, so it was mostly play time for me (with some packing going on). That didn’t leave a ton of time for reading, but here are a few things that have caught my eye since last we spoke. You may find the NY Times article on strangulation prosecution of particular interest.

Categories
Sexual Assault

Don’t Be That Guy

6361659_origThanks to our friend Sheila for sending over the link to the new round of “Don’t Be That Guy” posters from Sexual Assault Voices of Edmonton. I really like this campaign and appreciate that attention is paid to same sex violence, as well. You can check out all of the posters from both the 1st and 2nd series here.

Categories
DV/IPV Sexual Assault

Sexual Violence and HIV Transmission

The American Journal of Reproductive Immunology’s current issue is completely devoted to Sexual Violence and HIV Transmission (and it appears free full text). So, yeah, I’ll just go ahead and add that to my reading list for my Australia trip…

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Uncategorized

Journal Club Wrap-Up

Well, a small, but mighty group of us had an interesting conversation at our first journal club. Not sure if it’s worth doing it again, but it was a great way to talk about a recent article. Plus I learned that I need to organize myself in a much different way when it comes to facilitating a discussion on twitter versus facilitating live, so definitely an opportunity for some skill building. You can read the full exchange after the jump (start from the bottom and read up).

Categories
Child Abuse

Clinical Guide: Bite Wounds

I had a request for some information on bite wounds in living patients, so I decided to create a new clinical guide on the subject. However, there are caveats to this one–I only included research that was applicable to the work we do as clinicians. Any of the research on bite mark impressions and the challenges to that science are not included here (no disrespect to our forensic odontology colleagues, but that’s a very different area of science). I have only looked at issues related to identifying, treating and swabbing for the purposes of this clinical guide. If I have left something out that you feel is particularly important, please let me know and I’ll add it in. As with all of the guides, contact me if you’d prefer a word doc with hyperlinks.

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Uncategorized

Get Ready for Journal Club!

Mark your calendar: the inaugural Forensic Journal Club is coming up 12 February. Find all the information you need to participate here.

This is a busy week for me–aside from significant writing and teaching, I am also prepping for a trip to Sydney, Australia next Monday. It’s a fantastic honor to be the keynote for the Australian National Forensic Nursing Conference, and I very much hope I will get meet some of FHO’s Australian readers (of which there are many, so thank you all for that!). On top of all of that, tomorrow (Tuesday) kicks off our very first Twitter journal club (#ForensicJC). Don’t forget to check out the dedicated page for everything you need to know about our virtual session.

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Uncategorized

Questions for Journal Club

Mark your calendar: the inaugural Forensic Journal Club is coming up 12 February. Find all the information you need to participate here.

Several of you have asked me about specific questions to consider for journal club. I think there are are lot of directions you can take in a journal club, but as I looked at the resources in my own library, here are some basic ones I like (adapted from a guide from the nice folks at McMaster University School of Public Health in Canada):

Categories
DV/IPV

Clinical Utility of An IPV Screening Tool for Female VA Patients

Mark your calendar: the inaugural Forensic Journal Club is coming up 12 February. Find all the information you need to participate here.

The VA Women’s Health Research Consortium (PDF) has an awesome webinar coming up next week: Clinical Utility of an Intimate Partner Violence Screening Tool for Female VA Patients. The session will be held on February 12th from 3-4 pm ET and is free of charge. You do know my happy place is the intersection of research and practice, so if I’m able I will be attending.

Categories
Sexual Assault

Evaluating the Work of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Programs in the Criminal Justice System: A Toolkit for Practitioners

Mark your calendar: the inaugural Forensic Journal Club is coming up 12 February. Find all the information you need to participate here.

I’m so excited to announce that the toolkit for evaluating SANE programs’ work in the criminal justice system (PDF) is now available. Many of you heard Dr. Campbell and colleagues speak about this in Puerto Rico last fall. I know I have been eagerly awaiting its release for quite some time. I feel confident this will be a useful tool for many of you (full disclosure: I was a consultant on this project).

Categories
DV/IPV Sexual Assault

Since Last We Spoke, 2-4-13

Mark your calendar: the inaugural Forensic Journal Club is coming up 12 February. Find all the information you need to participate here.

Clearly, I needed the weekend to recover, which is exactly what I did. Surrounded myself with loved ones (and my pup) and played down in Charlottesville with good friends. I held a few new babies, drank several glasses of good red, and ate enough for a couple people– all in all, it did a world of good. And while I was at it, I had a chance to do a little reading. Later in the week I will be bringing you a new clinical guide. But in the meantime, here’s what’s caught my attention since last we spoke:

Categories
Uncategorized

Bureaucracy

Mark your calendar: the inaugural Forensic Journal Club is coming up 12 February. Find all the information you need to participate here.

I am mired in bureaucracy today. The kind of head-shaking, migraine-inducing, make-you-feel-kind-of-stabby bureaucracy that causes me to wonder,  how is it possible that we as a people are able to get anything done? I ran across this quote, which I thought rather apt: “Some third person decides your fate: this is the whole essence of bureaucracy.” True that. Clearly at the point where I am hollering at my dog about the small-minded incompetence of certain state government offices, while simultaneously shoveling stale chocolate chips in my mouth (the only chocolate I could find in the whole damned house)–clearly now is a good time to close up shop for the weekend. Before I go, though, please do check out the newest offerings on the Canada page. Some good stuff there (thank you, Sheila!).

Have a great weekend, everyone.