CFN case studies
CFN · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Certified Forensic Nurse (CFN) credential is a professional certification for registered nurses who combine clinical expertise with the legal and investigative aspects of forensic nursing. It is intended for nurses working in sexual assault response, intimate partner violence, death investigation, correctional health, psychiatric forensic settings, or any role where nursing care intersects with the justice system. The CFN case studies are 5 cases and about 3,427 words.
1Hoarse Voice at 22 Weeks' Gestation: Non-Fatal Strangulation in a Prenatal Clinic
Amara, 28, G2P1 at 22 weeks' gestation, presents to her prenatal clinic at 9:10 a.m. for a "cough and neck pain" that began three days ago.
722 words, about 4 min2Eighty-Four Hours Later: Adolescent Assent, Guardian Consent, and What Evidence Still Exists
At 2:15 a.m., a 16-year-old girl arrives at a community ED with her aunt. Her mother, the legal guardian, is traveling out of state and has been reached once by phone but is now unreachable.
681 words, about 3 min3Found Unresponsive With a Sacral Wound: Whose Death Is It?
At 7:40 a.m., a home health aide calls the agency nurse to report that her 71-year-old client was found unresponsive in bed and is "cold and not breathing." The aide last visited two days earlier. On arrival, the nurse finds the woman supine in a urine-soaked bed, with a 6-cm dark wound over the sacrum with visible subcutaneous tissue, contractures of both knees and the right elbow, and marked temporal wasting.
691 words, about 3 min4Subpoena for the Notebook: When the SANE's Personal Notes Are Demanded
A SANE nurse at a regional hospital receives a subpoena duces tecum from the defense attorney for a man awaiting trial. It demands "any and all records, photographs, handwritten notes, and electronic messages" relating to a patient examined 14 months ago, including the nurse's personal shift notebook, which contains her impressions ("patient seemed coached, story changed twice") that never entered the medical record.
671 words, about 3 min5"No One Touches Me": Capacity, PREA, and the Clock on HIV Prophylaxis in a Jail Infirmary
At 11:20 p.m., a 41-year-old man in county jail is brought to the infirmary after reporting that he was sexually assaulted by two other detainees in a shower 6 hours ago. He carries diagnoses of schizophrenia and mild intellectual disability; he is disorganized, says the ceiling lights "are recording me," and repeatedly stands up and paces.
662 words, about 3 min