A Narrative on How to Use Diagrams for Forensic Nursing
By Valerie Sievers MSN, RN, CNS, SANE-A, SANE-P, DF-ARN
Accurate, thorough, and consistent documentation is an essential competency for healthcare professionals who provide care to patients who have been affected by violence and crime. Poor or absent documentation in cases requiring a forensic healthcare response can adversely affect legal outcomes. Standardized body diagrams are typically used in addition to photography for documentation in cases of sexual assault, domestic violence, strangulation, child maltreatment, elder abuse, and human trafficking.
Diagrams and body maps allow for visual placement of injuries, so anyone reviewing a medical record can see the locations of injuries, wounds, or findings. Forensic diagrams should include the size, shape, and color of the findings next to the drawing. Expertly curated diagrams can also be used in criminal and civil trial proceedings, to effectively educate the jury about normal anatomy or injury.
The saying “if it wasn’t documented, then it wasn’t done” applies even more to forensic nursing practice and supports the standard for comprehensive documentation as part of the medical forensic examination.
The Academy of Forensic Nursing recognized the need to have standardized diagrams useful for documentation in forensic practice and worked with ION to develop a variety of anatomic images that can be incorporated into medical records, used for education purposes, or admitted as evidence during legal proceedings.
Nurses and forensic professionals please contact Lindsay Coulter (lcoulter@ionmedicaldesigns.com) or Valerie Sievers (vsievers@afnmail.org) for information on the standardized packages.