‘Trauma-informed, patient-centered’ approach sustains Center of Excellence in Forensic Nursing

Review the laundry list of accomplishments and accolades for the Texas A&M Health Center of Excellence in Forensic Nursing, and you may think it’s been around for 20 years. Officially, it’s been just a quarter of that.

The center hosted local and state elected officials, community leaders and other supporters on Friday to commemorate five years as a Texas A&M University System Board of Regents-approved center. The event dually served as the unofficial grand opening of the center’s new headquarters in Bryan, which includes more offices, instruction space and clinical simulation capabilities.

So how has the center developed into a national lynchpin for the forensic nursing field in such a short time?

“Everything at the center can be traced back to our commitment to providing trauma-informed, person-centered care to those affected by violence and disaster,” said Stacey Mitchell, DNP, founding director of the center and a clinical professor at the Texas A&M College of Nursing.

Filling a need

About a decade ago, Texas was dealing with a shortage of forensic health care experts, an issue particularly acute in the state’s rural areas. It allocated funding to the College of Nursing to develop graduate education and outreach programs in forensic nursing. This nursing specialty is designed to deliver care to individuals who experience trauma, abuse, neglect and violence.

The college got to work. By 2017, it had launched a graduate certificate in forensic health care. A year later, it was offering a Master of Science in Nursing with a concentration in forensic nursing.

A comprehensive outreach and training strategy was running in tandem to the education programs. The Texas Attorney General’s Office in 2017 appointed the college to run its statewide sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) certification program and handle other forensic health care projects. The most common entry point into forensic health care, SANEs are specially trained to care for survivors of sexual violence.

“There wasn’t a blueprint for how to build this, so we designed our own,” Mitchell said. “We pride ourselves on maintaining high standards and seeking out the top experts in forensic nursing to ensure our learners are best equipped to care for the patients who need them at a very vulnerable time.”

With the infrastructure in place, leaders at the college applied to become a Board of Regents-approved center, which requires significant externally supported research and education that “extend beyond the individual interest or a single department or unit.” Chancellor John Sharp recommended and the board approved creation of the center to operate within the college in fall of 2019.

Establishing the standard

The center’s continuing education program is renowned for guiding nurses to SANE certification and delivering unique learning opportunities in forensic health care. Many of the courses are delivered online, while others require learners to visit the center’s simulation space. Recently, the center began offering education via its mobile simulation center, which is a specially designed recreation vehicle that visits rural areas.

Courses include a mock testimony experience that prepares SANEs to testify in court, medical forensic photography bootcamp for documenting injuries, human trafficking response and more.

Annually, the center delivers more than 20,000 hours of continuing education. There were nearly 3,000 attendees at continuing education opportunities during the 2023-2024 academic year alone.

In addition to serving as the state’s provider of SANE training, the center is contracted by Indian Health Service (IHS), the federal agency that provides health care to Native Americans and Alaska Natives, to deliver forensic health care education to IHS providers.

“I believe the center represents the standard in forensic nursing” said Leann Horsley, PhD, dean of the college. “The proof is certainly in the federal and state support the center has received, but just as important is the person-first philosophy that is foundational to all of the center’s activities.”

Tech-savvy nurses

The center embraces technology, according to Mitchell.

“Technology allows us to maximize our reach,” she said. “Whether through our continuing education programs or efforts that directly touch patients, we can make Texas, and the country, smaller by insisting on modernization.”

The Texas Teleforensic Remote Assistance Center (Tex-TRAC) deploys specially-designed telehealth equipment running proprietary software to rural hospitals, connecting them to SANEs to conduct sexual assault examinations. Nearly 20 SANEs from the center are on-call 24 hours a day to help clinicians in more than a dozen facilities help their patients.

You also might see learners using a virtual reality headset to run through a forensic examination, a forensic nursing experience unique to the center. Designed through a partnership with the Texas A&M College of Performance, Visualization & Fine Arts, the virtual-reality environment is a safe place for nurses to refine their skills ahead of seeing real patients.

The Texas Evidence Collection Protocol, a standardized guide for the state’s health care and law enforcement professionals to respond to sexual assault, will soon transition from a nearly 130-page document to an interactive website. Another digital project is a document repository for young forensic nursing programs.

Reaching more

With a team now approaching 20, the center has its eyes set on serving more people nationally and globally. It wants to strengthen research efforts and explore ways to deploy its digital offerings, including Tex-TRAC and virtual reality, to more partners and universities.

The college is preparing to unveil a Bachelor of Science in Nursing to Doctor of Nursing Practice program with a concentration in forensic nursing, infusing the field with more needed experts.

“We’re incredibly proud of what our young but influential center has accomplished,” Mitchell said. “But we’re equally grateful to have made a positive impact on the communities we serve.”

For more information, visit forensic-nursing.tamu.edu.

Texas A&M Health Center of Excellence in Forensic Nursing Timeline

2015

College of Nursing receives $2 million from the Texas Legislature to develop forensic nursing graduate education and outreach programs

Spring 2017

Graduate Certificate in Forensic Health Care begins

Spring 2017

Texas Attorney General’s Office selects College of Nursing to deliver statewide SANE training, consult on practice issues, facilitate state SANE coordinators meeting and maintain the Texas Evidence Collection Protocol

Spring 2018

MSN-Forensic Nursing Program begins

Fall 2018

Health Resources and Services Administration awards College of Nursing $1.47 million to support SANE training program

Fall 2019

Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approves creation of Texas A&M Health Center of Excellence in Forensic Nursing

Fall 2019

Center receives $1 million from Texas Attorney General’s office and $4 million from Office for Victims of Crime to establish Tex-TRAC, a telehealth care program for sexual assault survivors in rural hospitals

2019

Texas Attorney General Sexual Assault Prevention and Crisis Services Program partners with center to re-publish modernized Texas Evidence Collection Protocol

Fall 2023

Center secures $5.5 million contract with Indian Health Service to deliver forensic health care training and consultation

Summer 2024

Health Resources and Services Administration awards center another $1.5 million for SANE training program