Wednesday, October 18, 2006

WILMINGTON, NC - From Trauma to Trial: Beyond CSI, a forensics conference, will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 25, at the UNCW Executive Development Center at Landfall.

The conference, presented by UNCW's School of Nursing and Division for Public Service and Continuing Studies, targets nurses, healthcare and social service professionals, law enforcement officers, attorneys and community advocacy groups. Sessions will emphasize the collection, preservation and use of trauma and forensic evidence for trials and other related legal purposes. Trauma to trial issues will be focused around sexual violence as well as geriatric and pediatric injury.

Where else could one find the combination of speakers that includes a nurse coroner, a forensic anthropologist, an emergency department physician, a criminal profiler and a district attorney?" said Virginia Adams, dean of the UNCW School of Nursing. "From Trauma to Trial: Beyond CSI brings these professionals together to discuss their roles and the procedures that are required to successfully bring perpetrators to trial."

As the boundaries for nursing practice continue to expand, new roles are emerging for nurses to meet the critical health care needs of the population. One of these evolving specialties is forensic nursing, which draws upon the disciplines of nursing theory, forensic science, criminal justice, police science and legal studies.

As public service professionals, nurses are responsible for maintaining standards of practice in gathering evidence while treating victims of human violence with compassion and dignity. Frequently, legal cases are won or lost based on the handling of evidence. If health care professionals fail to incorporate or follow forensic guidelines, evidence may be mishandled or destroyed, leading to a miscarriage of justice.

Violent crime and its associated trauma are widely recognized as critical community health issues in American society. Given the complexity of this issue and the important role nurses play as first responders, the UNCW School of Nursing is presenting this conference for medical and law enforcement professionals to understand the basic procedures of collecting forensic evidence from victims.

Program topics and speakers include:

• Death Investigations

• Forensic Anthropology

• Evidence Collection and Wound Identification

• Criminal Profiling

• Forensics and the Law

Conference schedule:

7:30-8 a.m. Registration and breakfast

8-8:15 a.m. Welcome

8:15-9:45 a.m. Forensic Nursing Overview: Death Investigations Susan Chewning, BSN, RN, Charleston County Coroner (retired)

9:45-10 a.m. Break

10-11:30 a.m. These Dry Bones: Fundamentals of Forensic Anthropology, Midori Albert, Ph.D., Associate Professor, UNCW Department of Anthropology

11:30 a.m. Collecting Forensic Evidence in the Emergency Room

12:45 p.m. Jayne Batts, M.D.Clinical Faculty, Department of Emergency Medicine, Carolinas Medical Center

12:45-1:30 p.m. Lunch (provided)

1:30-2:30 p.m. Laws of Evidence Ben David, J.D. District Attorney, N.C. 5th Judicial District

2:30-2:45 p.m. Break

2:45-3:45 p.m. Profiling the Perpetrator, Rhonda Rigsby, Criminal Profiler

3:45-4:15 p.m. Panel Discussion: Roles of forensic specialists in nursing and law enforcement, Panel members: Susan Chewning, Ben David and Jayne Batts

4:15-5 p.m. Wrap up and evaluation

Major funding for the Trauma to Trial: Beyond CSI conference provided by the Landfall Foundation.

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NOTE TO MEDIA: Conference attendance is by registration only, however media are encouraged to attend any of the conference sessions. For more information or to arrange interviews with conference speakers either by phone in advance or at the conference, please contact Dana Fischetti in UNCW Marketing and Communications at 910.962.7259 or fischettid@uncw.edu."