CFN key terms

A nursing specialty in which clinicians apply nursing science to legal and judicial matters, caring for victims, offenders, and communities while preserving evidence and documenting findings that may be used in court.

A registered nurse with advanced training who performs focused medical-forensic examinations, collects evidence, documents injuries, and may testify, often in sexual assault or abuse cases.

An FNE specializing in the care of patients who have experienced sexual violence, providing trauma-informed examination, prophylaxis, documentation, and courtroom testimony.

The range of roles, procedures, and decisions a nurse is legally authorized to perform under state licensure, institutional policy, and specialty certification, which governs forensic activities such as evidence collection.

The degree of care and skill a reasonably prudent professional with similar training would provide in similar circumstances, used in court to judge whether conduct was negligent.

The chronological, documented record of who handled evidence, when, where, and for what purpose, maintained to show the evidence is authentic and unaltered from collection to courtroom.

The condition of evidence being unaltered, uncontaminated, and properly preserved, supported by correct packaging, sealing, labeling, storage temperature, and documentation from collection onward.

A standardized set of envelopes, swabs, tubes, and forms used to gather biological and trace evidence, often called a rape kit, with each item sealed, labeled, and tracked.

Genetic material recovered from biological samples such as blood, saliva, semen, or epithelial cells, used to identify or exclude individuals through profiling and comparison with reference samples.

A reference DNA or fingerprint sample collected from a known person, such as a consensual partner or responder, to distinguish their genetic material from that of an unknown assailant.

Sexual violence committed when a person is incapacitated by alcohol or a drug such as a sedative, which requires timely urine and blood collection and careful assessment of memory gaps.

Collection of blood and urine within specified time windows to detect substances that may have caused incapacitation, with documentation of collection time and handling requirements for laboratory accuracy.

An approach that recognizes the widespread impact of trauma, avoids retraumatization, and builds safety, trust, choice, collaboration, and empowerment into every interaction with a survivor.

Practice that prioritizes the survivor's needs, decisions, and dignity, offering options and information so the person controls the pace and direction of examination, treatment, and reporting.

A brief, evidence-informed intervention that provides safety, stabilization, connection to support, and practical help immediately after a traumatic event, without requiring detailed retelling of the trauma.

Short-term physical and emotional reactions such as numbness, agitation, confusion, or hypervigilance that commonly follow a traumatic event and do not by themselves indicate a lasting disorder.

A trauma-related disorder marked by intrusive symptoms, avoidance, negative changes in mood and cognition, and hyperarousal lasting more than one month and causing significant impairment.

A pattern of physical, sexual, psychological, or economic abuse by a current or former intimate partner, often escalating over time and affecting people of any gender, age, or background.

A continuing pattern of domination using threats, isolation, surveillance, and control of resources that limits a partner's autonomy and can persist even without physical violence.

A structured tool or set of questions used to estimate the risk of serious injury or homicide in intimate partner violence, guiding safety planning and referral to advocacy services.

A collaborative, individualized process of identifying warning signs, escape routes, safe contacts, and needed documents or resources so a person can act quickly when danger escalates.

External compression of the neck that can cause internal injury, hypoxia, and delayed death even without visible marks, requiring urgent medical evaluation and careful documentation.

Intentional harm, neglect, or exploitation of an older adult, including physical, sexual, psychological, financial, and caregiver neglect, often hidden and underreported.

Any act or failure to act by a caregiver that causes or risks harm to a child, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and emotional maltreatment.

A legal duty, defined by state statute, for certain professionals such as nurses to report suspected abuse, neglect, or specified injuries to designated authorities within required timeframes.

Voluntary agreement to examination or treatment after receiving understandable information about purpose, procedures, risks, alternatives, and the right to decline, obtained without coercion and documented.

The ethical and legal obligation to protect patient information from unauthorized disclosure, subject to exceptions such as reporting laws, court orders, and imminent danger to others.

A federal U.S. law governing the privacy and security of protected health information, permitting disclosures for treatment, payment, operations, and certain legal or public health purposes.

A court order compelling a person to appear, produce documents, or give testimony, which may require release of records and must be reviewed for validity before compliance.

A person with specialized knowledge who may offer opinions in court to help the judge or jury understand technical matters such as injury patterns, forensic examination standards, or evidence handling.

A witness who testifies only about what was directly observed or done, such as the nurse who performed an examination, without offering opinions beyond their firsthand knowledge.

An official, often elected and not necessarily a physician, who investigates deaths that are unexpected, violent, or otherwise reportable and determines cause and manner of death.

A physician, usually a forensic pathologist, who investigates reportable deaths, performs autopsies, and certifies cause and manner of death under statutory authority.

The specific injury, disease, or condition that produced the physiological derangement leading to death, stated on the death certificate and distinct from the manner of death.

The classification of how a death arose, typically natural, accident, homicide, suicide, or undetermined, which is a legal-medical determination rather than a judgment of intent or blame.

A coordinated group of professionals such as nurses, physicians, advocates, law enforcement, and child protective staff who share information and plan jointly to serve victims and families.

Supporting a survivor's rights, choices, and access to services by providing information, accompaniment, and referrals while avoiding pressure to report or participate in legal processes.

A person whose age, disability, illness, or dependency limits the ability to protect themselves or seek help, increasing risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation.