CFN Victim Assessment and Documentation 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A forensic nurse documents 'patterned injury' on a victim. This term refers to:
- Injuries that occur in a predictable anatomical distribution in accidental trauma
- Wounds whose shape reflects the object that caused them, linking injury to weapon (Correct answer)
- Bruising that appears in stages over several days
- Multiple injuries sustained during a single episode of violence
Correct answer: Wounds whose shape reflects the object that caused them, linking injury to weapon
Patterned injuries reproduce the shape or texture of the causative object, providing critical evidentiary linkage between wound and weapon.
Question 2: In elder abuse assessment, which finding should be most concerning for physical abuse rather than accidental injury?
- Fractures consistent with osteoporosis in weight-bearing bones
- Bruises in various stages of healing located on the trunk and buttocks (Correct answer)
- Skin tears on the forearms from anticoagulant therapy
- Pressure ulcers on the sacrum in a bedbound patient
Correct answer: Bruises in various stages of healing located on the trunk and buttocks
Bruises on the trunk and buttocks in various healing stages are inconsistent with typical accidental elderly falls and suggest repeated physical abuse.
Question 3: When collecting a sexual assault evidence kit, the forensic nurse should collect pubic hair combings primarily to:
- Determine the victim's DNA profile for exclusion purposes
- Recover foreign hairs or debris that may link a suspect to the victim (Correct answer)
- Assess for sexually transmitted infection risk
- Document the victim's grooming practices
Correct answer: Recover foreign hairs or debris that may link a suspect to the victim
Pubic hair combings may capture foreign hairs or trace evidence from the perpetrator, providing physical linkage between victim and assailant.
Question 4: Which element is required for a forensic nurse's testimony to qualify as expert witness testimony in court?
- The nurse must hold a doctoral degree in forensic science
- The nurse must have knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education in the relevant area (Correct answer)
- The nurse must have treated the victim in an emergency department setting
- The nurse must be employed by law enforcement at the time of the assessment
Correct answer: The nurse must have knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education in the relevant area
Under Federal Rule of Evidence 702, expert witness qualification is based on sufficient knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education — not a specific degree.
Question 5: A victim of intimate partner violence presents with a bite mark on the shoulder. The forensic nurse's best immediate action is to:
- Clean the wound with antiseptic before photographing to prevent infection
- Photograph the injury with scale before any wound care and consider DNA swabbing (Correct answer)
- Refer the patient directly to dentistry for bite mark analysis before documentation
- Document the injury verbally in the chart without photography to protect victim privacy
Correct answer: Photograph the injury with scale before any wound care and consider DNA swabbing
Bite marks must be photographed with a scale and swabbed for salivary DNA before any wound care to preserve physical and biological evidence.
Question 6: The SAFE-T mnemonic used in forensic nursing assessment stands for which elements?
- Safety, Assault, Forensic collection, Evidence, Treatment
- Suicidality, Affect, Family support, Environment, Trauma history
- Scene, Assessment, Findings, Evidence, Treatment plan
- Safety, Assessment, Findings, Evidence, Therapeutic intervention (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Safety, Assessment, Findings, Evidence, Therapeutic intervention
The SAFE-T framework guides forensic nurses through Safety, Assessment, Findings, Evidence collection, and Therapeutic intervention for trauma-informed care.
Question 7: Which statement about colposcopy in sexual assault examination is accurate?
- Colposcopy is required by law for all adult sexual assault examinations in the US
- Colposcopy magnifies anogenital tissue and allows photographic documentation of subtle injuries (Correct answer)
- Colposcopy is contraindicated in pediatric sexual abuse examinations
- Colposcopy findings alone are sufficient to confirm penetrative sexual assault
Correct answer: Colposcopy magnifies anogenital tissue and allows photographic documentation of subtle injuries
Colposcopy enhances visualization of subtle anogenital injuries and enables photodocumentation, improving forensic evidence quality.
CFN Victim Assessment and Documentation 3
A forensic nurse documents 'patterned injury' on a victim.
This term refers to: