It was in the early 1990s when the forensic nursing programs were originated. A national conference in St. Paul, Minnesota was the venue of approximately 70 nurses who gathered and conceptualized this highly specialized branch of forensic science. It was a conference of nurses who dealt with sexual assault. Soon after the convention ended, the formation of the International Association of Forensic Nurses became a reality. Forensic nursing was officially accepted as a specialty in 1995 by the American Nurses Association. Laws are being attempted to be passed by many states that require hospitals to have in their staff a number of forensic nurses. Programs for forensic nurses are now accessible to RNs in every state and in the District of Columbia.
Currently, many colleges offer forensic nursing programs in the internet. Most of their programs for forensic nursing require two years of classes in graduate studies. They will graduate with a Master of Science in Nursing degree once they have completed the course work. Participants will be able to earn additional credentials. Two of such specialties are on correctional forensic nursing and clinical forensic nursing. The focus of the training is on the areas of criminal procedures, collecting and documenting forensic evidence and becoming proficient when legal testimony is being provided. It is important to learn how to collect evidence without causing the victims to encounter more trauma, protecting the victim's rights and helping them with their physical and emotional therapy while the evidence is being gathered.
Many hospitals will employ forensic nurses but they may be on-call. Minimal hourly salary is paid to these nurses when they are not actively working on a case. This salary rate will go up considerably when they are called to work on the scene of the crime or the hospital so that their expertise can be utilized. Typically, the forensic nurse who had undergone forensic nursing programs would be spending two to four hours per case gathering evidence. They are also called frequently into court as expert witnesses. The demand for these nursing specialists will increase with violent crimes escalating dramatically. And consequently, the demand for the programs to become forensic nurses will also escalate in numbers.