Photo By Keisha Frith | Womack Army Medical Center (WAMC) Forensic Health Care Examiner Program Manager, Kelly...... read more read more
FORT BRAGG, NC. -- Womack Army Medical Center (WAMC) Forensic Health Care Examiners use a trauma-informed approach, education and advanced technology to ensure successful treatment and improve victims' confidence.
Their team consists of 20 Forensic Health Care Examiners, made up of nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and doctors. They work together to assist patients with the chief complaint of sexual assault, physical assault, child abuse, and neglect, however, they have expanded to include physical violence and strangulation. Kelly Taylor is the forensic health care examiner program manager. Taylor, who started the program is responsible for its sustainment and the development of staff into forensic examiners.
According to Taylor, separate from the 20 specially trained forensic health care examiners, they have been working to train other medical providers. They have educated their emergency department and outlying clinic staff to ensure that they have all the tools necessary to be successful, and to work from a trauma-informed standpoint whenever a patient presents to them.
“We have shifted to a trauma-informed approach, so we are educating not only our medical providers but we are getting out into the community and speaking to different agencies about really coming from a patient-centered trauma-informed approach, when conducting interviews and obtaining histories from patients,” Taylor said.
Taylor explains why this is important.
“There is a lot of trauma that accompanies being a victim of a crime, whether it is sexual assault, physical abuse or strangulation,” Taylor said. “What we try to do is to conduct our exams, our obtaining of information and patient history in a very trauma-informed way so that we can minimize secondary trauma, and minimize patients feeling more vulnerable.”
Education, training and the environment play an integral role in the treatment of patients who have gone through this particular trauma event.
Taylor shared that patients who are in an environment where they feel physically and emotionally safe, are able to share more freely and are less likely to keep the trauma trapped within themselves.
“I think it gives them a sense of security and confidence in their health care providers that not only are we providing them with best practice, we are confident in our skills,” said Taylor.
When patients are facing trauma they should not have to worry about their resources, instead, their focus should be on healing.
“I want them to feel confident in the fact that the health care providers and the forensic examiners are well trained with continuing education,” said Taylor. “Here at WAMC they are heard, they are listened to, and they are believed.”
What can patients expect when they present themselves for care?
According to Taylor, they have put together a database of subject matter experts to assist them with crisis referrals or health care concerns. These resources are available for patients during their initial appointment and follow-up appointment.
“The resources can present to the emergency department and speak with them in person, or we can give them the contact information and they can set up appointments,” said Taylor. “We try to provide them with as much expectation management so they know what moving forward looks like.”
The advanced technological tools that forensic examiners have been using continue to improve patient outcomes by “leaps and bounds” according to Taylor.
The different tools that they use impact how they collect and process evidence. Tools like the alternate light source which is a black light can detect the presence of bodily fluids on a patient that they could potentially collect for evidence. They also use a camera that Taylor states are created by forensic nurses for forensic nurses.
“It really helps us capture images of injury for injury identification, and then also for follow-up care and so we are able to treat and diagnose our patients in a more effective manner,” said Taylor.
Providers who see the patients for their follow-up appointments can now benefit from what the initial examiner saw because the photographs produced are clear, with a high resolution.
“They can come back and look at our photographs and have a good picture of what we saw and so, as they are seeing them for follow-up care they can understand if an injury is improving, staying the same, or getting worse,” said Taylor.
Taylor who is full-time time in this position and sees patients in both the acute setting in the emergency department and for follow-up care commends the other examiners for their efforts in providing this specialized care.
“For every other forensic examiner that works with us this is an additional duty,” said Taylor. “This is something that they do because they are passionate about it.”
“The team we have here never ceases to amaze me, their passion, compassion and their empathy for our patients is like none other,” Taylor said. “They never say I am tired, they never say I don’t have any more to give, they answer the call every single time and they show up for our patients and so I think what we have here is really remarkable.”
| Date Taken: | 05.27.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 05.27.2022 14:42 |
| Story ID: | 421749 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 666 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Forensic Health Care at WAMC Aims to Increase Patient Confidence, by Keisha Frith, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
