California
Expert Witness No.2177

California

Educational Background

Bachelor of Science in Nursing, 1989
University of Minnesota, School of Nursing
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Graduate Coursework:  Statistics; Child Abuse, 1990
University of Minnesota

Professional Nursing Experience

Hospital Staff Nurse -  Pediatrics and Pediatric Oncology
Public Health Field Work - High-Risk Maternal and Child
1992  International Special Olympics -  Medical Team
Migrant Health  - Perinatal Outreach
Public Health Clinic Nurse  - Family Planning, Prenatal Care, Well Women and Pediatrics
Health Care for the Homeless - Maternal and Child Outreach
Sexual Assault Response Team  (SART) - Nurse Examiner
SART - Program Coordinator
Independent Contractor/Suspect Exams - Santa Barbara Police Department and Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Department
Forensic Nurse Consultant/Expert Witness -  Sexual Assault
Triage Nurse - Ob/Gyn,  Pediatrics

Licenses, Certifications, Memberships

Registered Nurse Licensure -  State of California
Public Health Nurse Certification - concurrent
Forensic Nursing Board Certification - SANE -A
Member, International Association of Forensic Nurses
Member, California Sexual Assault Investigators Association

Forensic Nursing Experience

Nurse Examiner - January 1998 to present
SART Program Coordinator -  August 1998 to June 2006
Adolescent/Adult Victim Exams performed - over 200
Additional Victim Exams reviewed for quality assurance - over 500

Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Training 

Provided by the Santa Barbara County SART, a multi-disciplinary team, and the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, September  - October 1997.

Forty Hour Didactic :  Santa Barbara County Chief Medical Officer and  SART Medical Director;  Senior Criminalist from the Department  of Justice Crime Lab in Goleta;  Senior Deputy  District Attorney;  as well as presentations by experienced Rape Crisis and Victim Witness Advocates,  UCSB's  Rape Prevention and Education Director; practicing Nurse Examiners;  local Law Enforcement patrol officers and detectives :
SART concept, Roles of a coordinated Team
Psycho-dynamics of rape
Sexual Assault History taking; Informed Consent
OCJP(OES) Form 923
Evidence Collection, timing  considerations, Rape Kit and Crime Lab requirements
Forensic Exam: needs of the victim, needs of the justice system
Anatomy: normal, abnormal, normal variant
Injury recognition: genital, anal, other
Mechanism of injury
Treatment and Prophylaxis protocols
Evidence integrity and the Chain of Custody
Cultural considerations and Special Needs (language,  literacy, disabilities, adolescence, elderly, sexual orientation)
Interpersonal violence
Offender profiles
Rape Trauma Syndrome
Testifying in court

Forty-five Hour Preceptorship including :
Crime Lab orientation
Law enforcement ride-along
Jury trial observation
Pelvic exam training
Venipuncture
One-on-one mentoring by experienced Examiners: observation, practice, evaluation

Trainings and Presentations I Have Provided

Santa Barbara County Sexual Assault Nurse (SANE) Training - 1998, 1999, 2000

Advocate Medical Training, Area Rape Crisis Centers - 1998 to Present

SART for Area Hospital Emergency Departments - 1998 to 2006

SART for Community Clinics - 1998 - 2006

Forensic Nursing, Alan Hancock College Nursing School - 2003, 2005

Forensic Nursing, Santa Barbara City College Nursing School - 2004

City and County Law Enforcement Agency - 1998 to 2007

Sexual Assault Evidentiary Exam (through UC Davis) - 2001

Participant and consultant, video project "Safe & Strong: Personal Safety Strategies for People with Developmental Disabilities" 2002

Presenter, The MedicoLegal Exam,  "Striving for Justice Conference", Ventura County District Attorney's  Association 2002

Presenter, The MedicoLegal Exam",  "Crime Victims with Disabilities Conference", Cerritos, CA  2006

Presenter, "SART 101", Defense Investigator's Association, Napa, CA 2009

Suspect Forensic Exam Training, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department 2009

Presenter, "SART 101" Criminal Defense Bar, San Luis Obispo, CA 2009

Continuing Education

Child Maltreatment & Family Violence Conference, San Diego, CA 1999, 2000, 2001
Courtroom Communications for Forensic Examiners, Los Angeles, CA 2002
California Sexual Assault Investigators Association Conference, 1999, 2001
Pediatric Sexual Abuse Forensic Examiner Training, CMTC, San Diego 2007

IAFN 10th Annual Scientific Assembly, Minneapolis, MN 2000
Forensic Case History & Crime Lab findings
Speculum vs. non-Speculum Assisted Vaginal Swabs
When the Victim Can't Remember
Elder Sexual Assault
Sexual Homicide of Elderly Females
Development of an Evaluation Tool for SANE Programs
Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault Documentation
Physical Findings after First Consensual Intercourse
Colposcopic Findings of Women after Consensual/Non-Consensual Intercourse
Genital Injury Associated with Forced Digital Penetration
A Well organized Sexual Assault Examination

IAFN 11th Annual Scientific Assembly, Las Vegas, NV  2003
Biological Evidence and DNA Profiling
Integrating Forensic Nursing at the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office
Adolescent Sexual Assault: Epidemiology and Patterns of Anogenital Injury
Old Woods Lamp Die Hard
Forensic Evidence Collection in the ER
Evidence Collection at a Rape Homicide Scene
Glitter Particle Traces: Forensic Characterization and Assessment of Evidential Value
Forensic Nurse Examiner and Domestic Violence
Is the Defense, Defendable?
Using Digital Photography for Documenting Genital Trauma in Sexual Assault
Emergency Contraception
Beyond Evidence Collection: The Health Effects of Sexual Assault
From Forensic Exam to Prosecution
Behavior Analysis of Violent Crime Scenes

IAFN 13th Annual Scientific Assembly, Washington, DC, 2005
The Polygraph
Male Sexual Assault
Alcohol and Adult Sexual Assault in a Community Based Population of Women
Comparison of Examination Methods in the Evaluation of the Sexually Abused Female
Adapting a SANE Course for US Military Personnel
Use of Anoscopy by SANE in the Sexual Assault Examination
Identifying and Caring for Victims of Strangulation
Care of the Pregnant Sexual Assault Victim
Ethical Forensic Nursing Practice
HIV Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Study
Self-Inflicted Injuries Seen in Adolescents who have been Sexually/Physically Abused
Sexual Assault Care in the Military: Past, Present, Future
Examining the Developmentally Disabled
Theoretical Perspectives of Forensic Nursing
Woods Lamp Update
Predictors of Injury with Rape
Identification and Interpretation of the Adult/Adolescent AnoGenital Exam

IAFN 15th Annual Scientific Assembly, Salt Lake City, UT, 2007
Women's Risks of Injuries During Sexual Assault
Patterns of Genital Injury in Women Who are Sexually Assaulted While Incapacitated
Factors That Predict Prosecution of Adult SANE Cases
Response to Sexual Assault Patients with Physical Disabilities
Healing of Genital Injuries in the Pre-Pubertal & Adolescent Female
Estimating the Age of Bruises in Victims of Violence: Is There Evidence to Support This
Practice?
Reporting of Forced Sex by Black College women: Perceptions of Resources and
Barriers
Hymen Morphology Updated - Classifying Estrogen Effect Across the Lifespan
Special Challenges for the Forensic Nurse: Consulting for the Defense

IAFN 16 th Annual Scientific Assembly, Dallas, TX 2008:
Evidence Based Interpretation of Genital Injury
Let's Take the Daubert Challenge; An Exploration into Forensic Nursing Science
Is Skin Color a Source of Health Disparity in the Forensic Sexual Assault Exam?
Forensics and the Link to Interpersonal Violence, Trauma, and Injury
Elder Sexual Abuse
The Forensic Nurse as Expert Witness
Injuries to the Cervix Following Sexual Assault

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