In this Bell Work Talks, AFN’s very own School and Public Health Nurse Special Interest Group members discuss their maverick workings of addressing the need and desire to implement forensic education into school nursing practice and improving the identification, response, and care of students impacted by violence.

Jen has been a nurse since 1999. She has worked in multiple health care settings including Med-Surg, ICU, Critical care, Acute care, Pediatrics, Emergency Room, Management, Home Health, and School Nursing. She served in the United States Air Force as a nurse. In 2008, she obtained her MSN from the Beth-El College of Nursing at University of Colorado-Colorado Springs as a Forensic Clinical Nurse Specialist and a Forensic Certificate in Death Scene and Investigation.

Jen has served as an educator/consultant for the US Air Force Academy Response Team and has been a member of several forensic task forces to include sexual assault, elder abuse, and gangs. She is a member of the Academy of Forensic Nursing (AFN) and International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN) and is certified as a Sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) in both Adult/Adolescent and Pediatrics. From 2009-2011, she served as President-Elect, President, and Past President for the Colorado Chapter of IAFN. She also updated several forensic policies within the military and hospital setting and has presented several forensic topics such as sexual assault, interpersonal violence, filicide, medical-forensic care, non-accidental pediatric trauma, and non-fatal strangulation across multiple healthcare settings.

Jen currently works as a SANE at Denver Health Medical Center and is the chairperson for the school and public health nurse special interest group for AFN. Her vision is to introduce medical-forensic care to the school and public health setting to initiate prevention, early intervention, and support the need and expand the role of forensic nursing.

Amanda obtained her AND degree in 2016. She is currently employed with Purdue Polytechnic High School in Indianapolis, IN as a school nurse. Prior to this, Amanda was a nurse for pediatric private practice. Amanda also has a degree in Early Childhood Education with 19 years of experience and completed her BSN at the University of Indianapolis in 2022. Amanda became a member of AFN in 2019 with the intend of becoming a members of the School and Public Health Special Interest Group in order to promote early intervention practices in the school setting. Amanda is a child passenger safety technician (CPST) and is passionate about pediatric/adolescent health.

Kristin Beers, MSN, RN, SANE has been a nurse in Central Kentucky for over 35 years. Her varied background in Orthopedics, Neurosciences, Pediatrics, Case Management, Home Infusion and Utilization Review prepared her for her most favorite specialties, School Nursing and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE).

Kristin became familiar with sexual assault response teams (SART) and SANE nursing while in graduate school and she was a hospital advocate for several years which allowed her to observe multiple levels of care before she became a SANE in 2017. She has used her experience as a student, an advocate and a SANE to develop presentations regarding the intersectionality of healthcare, forensics, and social emotional healing. She likes to think that her SANE clinic is where the healing begins.

Kristin is currently employed by an elementary school in central Kentucky and the Lexington SANE Program housed at the Lexington Division of Police in Lexington, Kentucky.

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