In this Bell Work Talks, Dr. Joyce Williams discusses how standards impact professional practice, what the main purpose is and how it directs professional nursing practice.

This is followed by a review of the forensic nursing subcommittee of the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science (OSAC), whose goal is to strengthen the discipline’s use of forensic science by drafting standards related to all forms of violence. The team structure strives to provide a robust analysis of each aspect of forensic nursing care that leaves no unanswered questions when caring for a victim of violence and the prosecution of a case.

Dr. Joyce Williams received her Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Tennessee in forensic nursing. Focusing on injury prevention, her research includes swabbing of the mouth for forensic DNA and reducing combat morbidity and mortality through improved protective armor for the military members. She is an active member of the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT). As a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing she serves on the expert panels: violence and quality health care.

She chairs the forensic nursing subcommittee for OSAC (Organization of Scientific Area Committees), and the Forensic Nursing Science Section in the American Academy of Forensic Science (AAFS). She is a reviewer for the Journal of Forensic Nursing and Journal of Doctoral Nursing Practice. Additional service includes the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force Victim Services Committee, the Baltimore County Human Trafficking work group, educator for medical providers on identification and protocols to use with trafficked individuals, and Board member - Partnership for a Safer Maryland.