One-Day Virtual Symposium

The Boston College Connell School of Nursing Continuing Education Program is pleased to announce a new series of one-day events streaming live online from BC's campus.
Clinical Forensics: A Global Perspective
Thursday, December 15, 2022
8:00 am–4:00 pm
Live, Online via Zoom
6.5 Contact Hours
Registration: $99
* Schedule Subject to Change
- Ann Wolbert Burgess, DNSc, APRN, FAAN
Dr. White will present findings from a three year study designed to identify the prevalence of NFS in patients seeking acute medical examination after reporting vs not reporting rape or sexual assault and the various of signs and symptoms exhibited by the victims. - Catherine White, OBE
This presentation will review how crime-related trauma impacts traditional clinical standards where healthcare interfaces with the law and establish the background and rationale for the evolving role of Forensic Nurse Clinicians. Emphasis clinical forensic responsibilities beyond securing life; evidence recovery; and photo-documentation. Coordination with police, medical examiner,a designated Forensic Nurse Hospitalist, and recognition of legal and human rights. - Virginia Lynch and Dr. Ersi Kalfoglu
Presentation review the Dutch statistics on rape with focus on the importance of how to elicit specific critical information regarding the context in which strangulation took place in non-stranger rape cases and why this is important for case building and progression, including what type of forensic evidence could support the narrative of a complainant. - Sharita Gajadhar
A presentation on the significant contribution civilian consultants have made to an active homicide investigation, and the myriad ways in which cold case investigations could be better served by bringing in experts from an array of disciplines, rather than engaging only with law enforcement personnel. - Sarah Cailean, Criminal Behaviorist and Homicide Investigator
The Petito case caught not only national but world wide attention. An international team of law enforcement personnel and therapeutic forensic personnel observed and discussed the bodycam footage showing Petito and her fiance prior to her tragic dissapearance and death. This presentation will offer a brief overview of the general outcomes of this investigation. - Ann Wolbert Burgess, DNSc, APRN, FAAN, Courtney Hoblock and Sandra Adiarte
In this session, Dr. Michelle Patch will discuss existing challenges and controversies related to post-strangulation clinical evaluation, highlighting specific opportunities for future research. - Michelle Patch, PhD, MSN, APRN-CNS, ACNS-BC, AFN-C, FAAN
- Victor G. Petreca, PhD, DNP, PMHNP-BC
Reproductive coercion remains a significant concern for nurses caring for pregnant women and women of reproductive age. This presentation highlights a current gap in knowledge about the ways reproductive coercion may affect a pregnancy and birth outcomes. - Gael Strack
Reproductive coercion remains a significant concern for nurses caring for pregnant women and women of reproductive age. This presentation highlights a current gap in knowledge about the ways reproductive coercion may affect a pregnancy and birth outcomes. - Laura K. Suzuki, PhD, MPH, RN, CPH
2:45-3:15 pm - A Pain in the Neck: Supporting expert assessment of strangled patients in New Zealand
New Zealand has a small population spread over a large area. The 2018 law change which recognised the potential lethality of strangulation precipitated a need for police to access expert assessment of strangled or suffocated patients. This presentation will describe how we are trying to address this need in an equitable way, recognising that many of the population do not live in urban centres, which is where clinical forensic medicine services are sited. - Dr. Clare Healy, (ONZM)MB.BS; FRNZCGP; DCH; MForensMed; MFFLM; FFCFM (RCPA)
This presentation will take a deep dive to examine the impact of school shootings on indicators of adolescent school safety. - Danielle T. Walker, MSN, PMHNP-BC and J.C. Hodges, MSW, LCSW
Faculty include:
Sandra Adiarte is a PhD Candidate at the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine at Bond University, Australia. She is a member of the tactical research unit (TRU) at Bond University led by Prof. Rob Orr.
Ann Wolbert Burgess, D.N.Sc., APRN, FAAN, is an internationally recognized pioneer in the assessment and treatment of victims of trauma and abuse, and author of A Killer by Design: Murderers, Mindhunters, and My Quest to Decipher the Criminal Mind. She has received numerous honors including the Sigma Theta Tau International Audrey Hepburn Award, the American Nurses’ Association Hildegard Peplau Award, and the Sigma Theta Tau International Episteme Laureate Award. Her courtroom testimony has been described as “groundbreaking,” and she has been called a “nursing pathfinder.”
Her research with victims began when she co-founded, with Boston College sociologist Lynda Lytle Holmstrom, one of the first hospital-based crisis counseling programs at Boston City Hospital. She then worked with FBI Academy special agents to study serial offenders, and the links between child abuse, juvenile delinquency, and subsequent perpetration. Her work with Boston College nursing colleague Carol Hartman led to the study of very young victims and the impact of trauma on their growth and development, their families and communities. Her work continues in the study of elder abuse in nursing homes, cyberstalking, and Internet sex crimes. She teaches courses in Victimology, Forensic Science, Forensic Mental Health, Case Studies in Forensics and Forensic Science Lab.
Coming Soon.
A former police officer with a decade of service in federal and municipal law enforcement agencies, Sarah also served as co-creator, executive producer, and host of the four-part docu-series Hell in the Heartland: What Happened to Ashley and Lauria on HLN. She is a correspondent for HLN and contributes regularly to programming and investigative specials, as a consultant on breaking or ongoing cases in the news. Sarah is currently serving as a special investigator with the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Division in Mobile, Alabama, primarily tasked with cold case rape and homicide investigations with a serial component. She hosts a series of lectures around the country, covering case studies and the true crime media phenomenon. She recently joined forces with Dr. Ann Burgess at Boston College to lead a multi-university research project in which the impact of using forensic psychology/psychiatry nursing expertise in approaching cold cases can be utilized by law enforcement to more effectively solve cold case homicides.
Ms. Gajadhar is the Managing Director at Huys van Thuys: Improving Rape Investigations & Prosecutions. Her work is particularly focused on improving the investigation (e.g., investigative interview, effective report writing) and prosecution (e.g., strong case building) of non-stranger rape cases. She guides victims through the investigation and prosecution phase and advises health and criminal justice professionals on effective evidence-based victim-centered approaches. Ms. Gajadhar also developed the first content-based interview model (Non-Stranger Rapist Oriented Interview) that has specifically been designed for the investigative interview of non-stranger rape complainants (Gajadhar, 2021; Gajadhar & Bull, 2022).
Dr. Clare Healy is a forensic physician and general practitioner in Christchurch, New Zealand. She is an expert in the assessment of physical and sexual assault, having worked in this area of healthcare for more than 25 years. She works at the Cambridge Clinic, which provides medical assessment for adult and adolescent victims of sexual and physical assault. She completed a Masters in Forensic Medicine in 2009, through Monash University, Melbourne and has been involved in Medical Sexual Assault Clinicians Aotearoa (MEDSAC- was DSAC), an education and training provider, for many years. She has led the development of E learning modules to inform clinicians about the assessment of patients who have been strangled or suffocated. Dr Healy has been a Clinical Editor for Canterbury Healthpathways- a website that provides guidance to clinicians on managing over 500 clinical conditions, including family violence and strangulation.
J.C. Hodges is a licensed clinical social worker and a PhD student at Boston College. His research interests include using econometric techniques to analyze public health impacts of public policies.
Virginia A. Lynch, MSN, RN, FCNS, DF-AAFS, FAAN is a Forensic Clinical Nurse Specialist and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. She is the Founding President, Distinguished Fellow, International Association of Forensic Nurses and a Fulbright Scholar to India. Dr. Ersi Kalfoglu, is a Professor at the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences; Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences at Istanbul Yeni Yuzyil University Istanbul, Turkey; and President, Balkan Academy of Forensic Sciences.
Michelle Patch is an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore, Maryland, an adult health clinical nurse specialist and an advanced forensic nurse. She has held progressive clinical, operational, and safety leadership positions in various inpatient, outpatient, emergency, and austere settings. Dr. Patch's scholarly interests include health care responses to intimate partner violence and assault mechanisms including strangulation. Her mixed-methods research and multiple peer-reviewed publications have significantly contributed to the limited but growing science base for global post-strangulation injury and care. Dr. Patch serves as Secretary for the Forensic Nursing Certification Board, is past-Chair for the Academy of Forensic Nursing's Research Committee and is a member of the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention's Medical Advisory Board.
Victor Petreca, Ph.D., DNP, PMHNP-BC, CNP, is an assistant professor at the Connell School of Nursing. Prior to his arrival at Boston College, he worked as an assistant professor at the Regis College and was a preceptor at the Bristol County Jail and House of Corrections.
Dr. Petreca received his DNP from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, a master’s in nursing from the MGH institute of Health Professions, and bachelor of science in Clinical Laboratory Sciences/Medical Technology from Eastern Michigan University.
Gael B. Strack, ESQ is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Alliance for HOPE International.Programs of the Alliance include: National Family Justice Center Alliance, Training Institute onStrangulation Prevention, Camp HOPE America, Justice Legal Network and VOICES Survivor Network.
Laura K. Suzuki, PhD, MPH, RN, CPH is a public health nurse with experience working at all levels of public health. Her primary expertise is in maternal and child health with a focus on culturally diverse and vulnerable populations. Her research interests include the impact of intimate partner violence and coercion on reproductive health and decision-making from a reproductive justice framework, healthcare response to intimate partner violence, and population-based approaches to addressing gender-based violence.
Danielle Walker is a psychiatric nurse practitioner and a PhD student at Boston College. Her research interests are focused on the impact of community and gun violence.
Catherine
White, OBE, is a forensic physician and the Clinical Director of St. Mary's
Sexual Assault Referral Centre, where forensic, medical and psychological services are provided to men, women and children, who present as victims of sexual violence. Dr. White also serves as an International Consultant Expert in Sexual Violence for the United Nations.