Program areas at IAFN
Education: iafn offers continuing education through live and online training independently and in conjunction with other partners. In 2022 iafn offered 16 live clinical skills labs, 75 short (3 hours or less) online courses; adult/adolescent online didactic sane training (1219 attendees); pediatric online didactic sane training (283 attendees); and intimate partner violence Forensic nurse examiner online course (271 attendees). There was one live didactic adult/adolescent sane training in 2022. Iafn responds to a variety of technical assistance requests both inside and outside of federal grant projects. Thousands of ta requests were answered by iafn staff in 2022. For the 17th year, iafn provided ta regarding the national protocols for sexual assault medical Forensic examinations (adult and pediatric) and the national safe training standards through a us department of justice office on violence against women (ovw) safeta project grant. In 2022 there were 303 requests for assistance answered under this project. In addition to safeta, iafn responded to 148 ta requests related specifically to sexual assault exam payment; 262 ta requests from tribal sites serving sexual assault victims; 105 ta request under the national indian country clearinghouse grant; and 944 ta requests that fell within the realm of iafn general services.
Membership: membership remains steady at 5,576 members representing 32 countries. Member services include access to the journal of Forensic nursing, member community and networking opportunities, online learning system, access to resources through iafn and its partnerships, research and research grants, news and career opportunities. More than 300 members served on boards, committees or task force, while hundreds more volunteered their time, expertise and energy through involvement in their local iafn chapters or by offering education in our online learning center. 3 new chapters were started in 2022, bringing the total chapter number to 26.
Annual meeting: iafn hosted the annual international conference on Forensic nursing science and practice live in in dallas, tx. 1395 attendees joined 187 presenters, and more than 100 contact hours in nursing were offered. Conference was also available in a pre-recorded virtual fashion from october 17-november 21, 2022, where 70 presentations were offered and 19 poster sessions.
Products & publications: iafn produces a variety of documents, including position papers, statements, and education guidelines, addressing issues that impact Forensic nursing practice, and/or patients who require Forensic nursing care. In 2022, iafn worked with springer publishing to publish the 2nd edition iafn sane-a and sane-p certification exam prep textbook.
Certification: through its certifying body, the commission for Forensic nursing certification, iafn offers professional certification for sexual assault nurse examiners who specialize in caring for adult and adolescent patients (sane-a) and pediatric and adolescent patients (sane-p). As of december 31, 2022, 603 Nurses applied to take sane certification and 434 renewed their existing certification.
Other program services: iafn conducts services and engages in partnerships that promote Forensic nursing education, evidence-based practice, and patient access to Forensic nursing care. In 2022, iafn partnered with the human rights and war crimes unit of the us department of homeland security to provide training on the medical Forensic response to gender-based violence for an event in botswana; provided education and clinical skills training for peace corps medical officers in the needs of sexual assault victims; presented to officials in security and law enforcement throughout mexico on improving their response to gender-based violence; provided a series of presentations organized by the college of nursing and department of Forensic medicine at the all india institute of medical sciences, new delhi, india; presented at a us embassy-organized event in new delhi, india; and visited the republic of Georgia at the request of the us state department to provided training, assess current responses, and model the effectiveness of multidisciplinary teams. Iafn awarded $16,150 in research grants to members who are seeking to expand the Forensic nursing evidence base on critical practice issues. In addition, iafn conducts policy work to provide factual information about Forensic nursing to legislators. Finally, iafn collaborates with other organizations both to improve patient access to care and patient outcomes through quality Forensic nursing care delivery. In 2022, iafn continued its partnerships with the urban institute on its ovw award: examining the implementation of the safe protocol by sexual assault nurse examiners: a national snapshot and case study analysis;; with the Alaska native women's resource center and Alaska network on domestic violence and sexual assault on iafn's national indian country clearinghouse on sexual assault ovw grant; with a number of health resources and services administration (hrsa)-funded sites working to increase the availability of sane-trained and sane-certified clinicians; and clinical sexual assault programs in 22 different states in the us to ensure availability to clinical skills lab training.